Out of all the racquets I've ever played with, the Mag Pro 90 is probably the one I would choose if I could have only one model of racquet for the rest of my playing days.
As Kirko mentioned, it was so simple - yet so beautiful.
I played with them from about 1988 to 1992.
Don't need any wimpy bumper on these things...
From '92 to '96, I hardly played, due to various circumstances. When I got back to playing regularly in '96, I saw that the old Mags (I had 2, I believe) were not in playable shape.
So I set out to find some. The internet not being a part of my life at that point, my resources were rather limited.
I found none.
Desperate, I called Tennis Australia to try to get a hold of Pat Cash, whom I hoped had some Mags left in his basement or something.
I spoke with the president of Tennis Australia, who obviously knew Cash well... a couple of phone calls later, the same day, the president phoned me back, saying that Cash is on vacation on some island, has no Mags left, but recommends the Prestige Classic 600 to fill the void.
So no luck there.
At that point, I grabbed a bunch of demos from various places, and from the bunch, decided that the Pro Staff 6.0 85 was the best among them.
I played with the Pro Staff for a year or so... but still longed for the Mags.
It was right about at that time that I noticed Cedric Pioline had dropped the Mags in favour of the Head Radical.
So I called Tennis France...
Got a hold of Pioline's agent... and over the summer of 1997, talked with his agent several times - including calling her at Wimbledon a few times.
Unfortunately for me, that was the year that Pioline reached the Wimbledon Final (yes - in singles)... and his agent kept telling me that she would ask him if he has any Mags left, but she wanted to wait until he was out of the tournament.
And he kept winning...
So I only got my answer 2 weeks later - the answer was that - yes, he has a few Mags left... and, yes, he will give them to me. Four of them. I only had to pay for shipping.
(Unfortunately, she decided to ship them 2nd day air from France - over $100.)
So I now had 4 of Pioline's unique white Mag Pro 90s... complete with red clay imbedded in the grommets.
Sadly, the years of pro play - and practice - showed on the frames. There were hairline cracks in a couple... and they were generally in a quite used condition.
I had new handles put on a couple, and I played with them for the rest of the summer - then sporadically for another 2 years or so... but it was clear that they were not in their prime, and not really in any better condition than my original ones.
I still love the Mag Pro 90. Haven't hit with one in a few years, though. I don't like teasing myself. It would be like kissing a former love as she passes through town, knowing that the wonderful feeling is but fleeting...
