Muster racquet history?

Jules

Jules

Rookie
I just wondered if anyone knows the racquet history of Thomas Muster?
I believe he used the head pt630 for the bigger part of his carriere, sometimes with a kneissl tom's reach machine pj (It was a pj right?)...but wat did he use before that and does anyone know what he's using now?

I think I can recall having seen some pictures of him playing with the head pc600 in his younger days, but I lack the facts:wink:
 
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I' pretty sure he used the head pt630 without a pj in is prime...the head shape is definitely not 600 sq/cm...
 
Didn't Emilio Sanchez and Thomas Muster help Head design the PT630/280? Also, the green Prestige is the Prestige 600, not Prestige Classic. I'm sure one of the resident Head experts will chime in here...
 
I think I saw a picture of him from around '92 playing with the red pc600...could be earlier though
 
From what I remember:

1. Prestige (silver & green)
2. Prestige (red)
3. PT 630 (European w/CAPs)
4. Toms Machine (Black and Gold)
5. Toms Machine (White 28inch)

And now he is back to a Head frame. Maybe a PT 630?
 
Head Classic, Prestige Classic, Classic 600, Prestige 600... whatever. Any 90 inch Prestige before the i.Prestige is the PC600 to me.
 
Muster used:
1. HEAD Prestige Pro 600 (Red/brown)
2. HEAD Prestige 600 (silver/green)
3. HEAD Pro Tour 630 (won the 1995 French Open with this racquet)
4. Then the different Kneissls
 
I watched him playing Davis Cup in 1995 and he was using a Volkl stencil on his frame. Don't know whether it was a genuine Volkl or not, but there was certainly a Volkl pattern on his strings. This was the first and only time I've seen that though.
 
galain said:
I watched him playing Davis Cup in 1995 and he was using a Volkl stencil on his frame. Don't know whether it was a genuine Volkl or not, but there was certainly a Volkl pattern on his strings. This was the first and only time I've seen that though.
Click to expand...

i'm sorry, but i can't believe that. i've seen all his davis cup matches at that time and especially since 1995 was the year he won the FO, he used the PT 630 in 1995 for sure. never ever a völkl.

edit: sorry, you only metioned the Völkl stencil. but that's not true either
 
galain said:
I watched him playing Davis Cup in 1995 and he was using a Volkl stencil on his frame. Don't know whether it was a genuine Volkl or not, but there was certainly a Volkl pattern on his strings. This was the first and only time I've seen that though.
Click to expand...

With all due respect...are you sure it wasn't the kneissl-stencil? Though not very similar I believe they could be confused in very rare cases if you're not familiar with the company;)

I'd post pctures of the kneissl if i knew how to do it....

Anyway...Muster never used any Völkl racquets and surely didn't have any deal with them, so for him to use their stencil seems pretty odd...he won the french open '95 with head pt630
 
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Yeah...he used to deliver severeal sets of string for the stringing guy because they often broke during stringing, hehe
 
federmann said:
i'm sorry, but i can't believe that. i've seen all his davis cup matches at that time and especially since 1995 was the year he won the FO, he used the PT 630 in 1995 for sure. never ever a völkl.

edit: sorry, you only metioned the Völkl stencil. but that's not true either
Click to expand...

I was mistaken about the year - it was early 1996. The Davis Cup tie was played on grass - not sure which country it was against - I think maybe Zimbabwe, not 100% sure. It was a first round match anyway.

I was staying in Tuebingen in South West Germany at the time and was watching the tennis on television in a store window in the altstat. I had just bought a Volkl V5 the week before - which is why the stencil on his frame caught my attention. The frame was black - can't remember any highlights or other colours.

Muster was playing terribly - he was getting served and volleyed off the court and was down a set. He definitely had a Voelkl stencil on his strings. Not Kneissl - I have a Kneissl and know that stencil well. Like I said - I don't know if he was using the racquet, but there was definitely a Voelkl stencil on his strings. The only time I ever saw it, but it caught my attention enough to make me stay and watch the match through the window. This would have been February (or late January) 1996 - before Fasching/Fasnacht/Fasten period.
 
Saw a couple of Muster's frames with i.prestige cosmetics and they were quite stiff--in the upper 60's RA--and it was from being reinforced with extra materials for his high tensions. Some players like deadened stringbeds/frames in some way or another, but it seems like Muster goes to every avenue. I wonder what his specs were like with the Prestige?
 
galain said:
The frame was black - can't remember any highlights or other colours.
Click to expand...

the stencil is a kneissl stencil , not VOLKL
this is what you saw http://ww1.sportsline.com/b/apphotos/Muster21396.jpg

http://images.search.yahoo.com/sear...eg&no=33&tt=661&oid=f9ce844297dc0442&ei=UTF-8

12 FEB 1996: Austria's Thomas Muster in action Monday Feb. 12, 1996 in his Davis Cup singles match against South Africa's Wayne Ferreira in Johannesburg. Muster, master of the clay courts, overtook Andre Agassi on Monday Feb. 12, 1996 to claim the No. 1 ranking in tennis.


Ii is the racquet that Tom played with after the PT630, it is the closest thing to a PT630 by Kneissl, it is black and gray, notice pattern it is 18X21, very nice

http://i14.tinypic.com/2hgbc6x.jpg
 
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Michael

Nice find, but he definitely wasn't playing Wayne Ferreira when I was watching him, and it wasn't a Kneissl stencil. The only reason I stopped to watch was because I saw the stencil which was the same as the one on the frame I'd bought the week before. That was the thing that caught my attention first. Perhaps he was up against one of the Black brothers - I'm not sure. Definitely grass, definitely Davis Cup, definitely Voelkl stencil, definitely the only time I've ever seen it, definitely getting his *** handed to him at the time.

I'm usually not one to quibble, and I really can't explain the Kneissl photo you've found, but seriously, the only reason I stopped to look was because I thought he was using what I'd just bought the week before.

Unless dementia really has begun to set in early....
 
Anyone knows what iso speeds he used? professional? that would explain why they break during stringing so high, their only 1.20 mm
 
Muster Davis Cup

Muster played for Austria against Zimbabwe in September of 1997 after the U.S. Open. I just looked it up on the ATP site. It says the surface was indoor hard not grass. He was definitely using the Kneissl Tom's Reach Machine at the time, so I have no idea about the Volkl stencil.
 
ericsson said:
Anyone knows what iso speeds he used? professional? that would explain why they break during stringing so high, their only 1.20 mm
Click to expand...

He used 15 gauge strings at high tension. I have one of his Toms reach with 15g at high tension and could not play with it. I dont know how he could produce all this spin with such a dense pattern using a very thick string at very high tension in the 30kilos.
 
michael chaho said:
He used 15 gauge strings at high tension. I have one of his Toms reach with 15g at high tension and could not play with it. I dont know how he could produce all this spin with such a dense pattern using a very thick string at very high tension in the 30kilos.
Click to expand...

Is it weighted the same way that Muster played with? You'd be surprised how much spin you can get with a stiff frame, dense pattern, and high tension when you use a high swingweight with polarized weighting.

IMO, the weight distribution is a bigger factor for spin level than the string setup.
 
travlerajm said:
Is it weighted the same way that Muster played with? You'd be surprised how much spin you can get with a stiff frame, dense pattern, and high tension when you use a high swingweight with polarized weighting.

IMO, the weight distribution is a bigger factor for spin level than the string setup.
Click to expand...


no it is not weighed the same I dont think so,, I will measure it for you and give you detailed spec #'s and tell me exactly what to do, and I will test it out and see.
 
michael chaho said:
He used 15 gauge strings at high tension. I have one of his Toms reach with 15g at high tension and could not play with it. I dont know how he could produce all this spin with such a dense pattern using a very thick string at very high tension in the 30kilos.
Click to expand...

Just to get it right...is it a reach machine he actually played with? If it is, it will solve the mistery of whether or not he actually used Kneissl or if it was just another pj

How did you get it? And how come it's not weighted the same way as when he used it?...i would love to know the spec:-D

Sorry for the questions, bu I'm a hardcore Muster-fan;)
 
Muster started out (first made waves in 1989) with the Prestige Pro 600, moved to the Prestige 600 around 1992, then to the Pro Tour MP (pj or not) in 1995. Beyond that, the specifics get fuzzy for me...
 
ericsson said:
Anyone knows what iso speeds he used? professional? that would explain why they break during stringing so high, their only 1.20 mm
Click to expand...

It measures a bit thicker than 1.20, more like 1.25. He was known to go as high as 44/43kg on Pacific machines, which go a little higher. The black Professional plays a bit differently than the natural color.
 
galain said:
Michael

Nice find, but he definitely wasn't playing Wayne Ferreira when I was watching him, and it wasn't a Kneissl stencil. The only reason I stopped to watch was because I saw the stencil which was the same as the one on the frame I'd bought the week before. That was the thing that caught my attention first. Perhaps he was up against one of the Black brothers - I'm not sure. Definitely grass, definitely Davis Cup, definitely Voelkl stencil, definitely the only time I've ever seen it, definitely getting his *** handed to him at the time.

I'm usually not one to quibble, and I really can't explain the Kneissl photo you've found, but seriously, the only reason I stopped to look was because I thought he was using what I'd just bought the week before.

Unless dementia really has begun to set in early....
Click to expand...
Du kannst es noch zehn Mal wiederholen, aber Muster war NIE bei Völkl unter Vertrag! Ab 1996 war er bei Kneissl und ihm gehörte damals auch ein Teil der Firma. Selbst wenn er ein anderes Racket gespielt hätte, so wäre niemals ein anderes Logo drauf gewesen.

You can repeat it ten times but Muster never was under contract with Völkl. From 1996 he was with Kneissl and he owned a part of the company. Even if he'd play another racket he never would have painted a different stencil on it.
 
Hello Jura, Michael and others

I will bow down to your collective wisdom. God knows why I'm so sure Muster had the Voelkl logo stencilled on his strings. Like I've been saying - I've never seen it before or since that one incident. Perhaps he borrowed a racquet from someone? Unlikely, I know, but I have heard of players using borrowed racquets before too. I'll admit, my mind may be playing tricks on me - but I'm so sure about everything else around me standing in front of that tv screen that day I didn't think I would have got the racquet details screwed up.

Looks like I did. Sorry if I added any confusion to this thread.
 
galain said:
Hello Jura, Michael and others

I will bow down to your collective wisdom. God knows why I'm so sure Muster had the Voelkl logo stencilled on his strings. Like I've been saying - I've never seen it before or since that one incident. Perhaps he borrowed a racquet from someone? Unlikely, I know, but I have heard of players using borrowed racquets before too. I'll admit, my mind may be playing tricks on me - but I'm so sure about everything else around me standing in front of that tv screen that day I didn't think I would have got the racquet details screwed up.

Looks like I did. Sorry if I added any confusion to this thread.
Click to expand...

No problem amigo:-D
 
galain said:
Hello Jura, Michael and others

I will bow down to your collective wisdom. God knows why I'm so sure Muster had the Voelkl logo stencilled on his strings. Like I've been saying - I've never seen it before or since that one incident. Perhaps he borrowed a racquet from someone? Unlikely, I know, but I have heard of players using borrowed racquets before too. I'll admit, my mind may be playing tricks on me - but I'm so sure about everything else around me standing in front of that tv screen that day I didn't think I would have got the racquet details screwed up.

Looks like I did. Sorry if I added any confusion to this thread.
Click to expand...

Passt schon!;)
 
galain said:
I watched him playing Davis Cup in 1995 and he was using a Volkl stencil on his frame. Don't know whether it was a genuine Volkl or not, but there was certainly a Volkl pattern on his strings. This was the first and only time I've seen that though.
Click to expand...

I have to admit seeing him with a Volkl something also. I was surprised but I never saw him again with it. I use Volkl's so that is why I was interested in seeing what model he had been using that time. Maybe we are both remembering something that wasn't. If so I need to start wearing my aluminum foil hat to keep out those eratic UFO waves hitting the earth.
 
Ha - Mc, I'd just convinced myself I must have been mistaken!

Damn - now I have no idea. I'm going to go and sit in the corner and rock for a little while.
 
muster-thomas1.jpg

Perhaps we are crazy and just got the kneissl's confused with volkl's?
 
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This was the racquet that muster used during the 1989 australian open match againts ivan lendl.

Head Prestige pro 600
pro2nd-1.jpg


pro2nd-3.jpg
 
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his was the racquet that muster used during the 1989 australian open match againts ivan lendl.

Head Prestige pro 600
Click to expand...


You mean THE RACQUET or just the same model...nice frame anyways...if it is the one he actually played with can you tell us if it's modified or not?
 
I haven't seen any post on this, so I'll mention it: He used to endorse (I think) the Pro Tour 280. Whether he really used it, I couldn't say.
 
jeffreyfranz said:
I haven't seen any post on this, so I'll mention it: He used to endorse (I think) the Pro Tour 280. Whether he really used it, I couldn't say.
Click to expand...

HEAD marketed the Pro Tour 630 as the Pro Tour 280 in the U.S.A. Muster's racquets had Pro Tour 630 written on them.
 
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