Stepanek's racket?
- Thread starter jelle v
- Start date
leonidas1982
Hall of Fame
it looks like a kblade. i'm not sure which.
leonidas1982
Hall of Fame
makes sense. he has only 2 frames with him.
featherlight
Professional
do u have a link?
featherlight
Professional
Forgot to add it is a k blade
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Andres
G.O.A.T.
Re-stringing them?
vkartikv
Hall of Fame
I was talking about ethics...
leonidas1982
Hall of Fame
R.S. for Stapenek. The "X" is the strings he uses. Wilson does not sponsor him.
leonidas1982
Hall of Fame
I guess it's settled abhout Novak's racquet. It is indeed a KBT -- 93sqin?
"“And then Radek is not playing with his own rackets, so that made it a little bit more lucky again. I hope with a day of recovery, I’ll make a miracle happen here and get through into the semis.”
The 26th-ranked Stepanek, from the Czech Republic, said he came directly to Shanghai from a vacation in Thailand to be an alternate. He had his tennis gear sent from home, but it hadn’t cleared Chinese customs yet.
He had to borrow tennis rackets from Novak Djokovic and socks from Murray, and needed to quickly buy contact lenses when he heard he was going to play."
http://tennis.com/news/news.aspx?id=151974
The 26th-ranked Stepanek, from the Czech Republic, said he came directly to Shanghai from a vacation in Thailand to be an alternate. He had his tennis gear sent from home, but it hadn’t cleared Chinese customs yet.
He had to borrow tennis rackets from Novak Djokovic and socks from Murray, and needed to quickly buy contact lenses when he heard he was going to play."
http://tennis.com/news/news.aspx?id=151974
leonidas1982
Hall of Fame
he beat Federer in Rome with his own racquet.
insiderman
Semi-Pro
"R.S. for Stapenek. The "X" is the strings he uses. Wilson does not sponsor him."
No, that is the stencil for Pacific - his string sponsor - same 'X' you have always seen on his frames...
No, that is the stencil for Pacific - his string sponsor - same 'X' you have always seen on his frames...
BreakPoint
Bionic Poster
It's amazing he played so well with someone else's racquets. I mean the feel, weight, balance, stiffness, weight distribution, swingweight must all be way off. Amazing.
TheShaun
Hall of Fame
maybe all this racquet talk that we love so much on these boards is a bunch of hocus pocus. skills pay the bills.
ericsson
Hall of Fame
Not to mention gripsize, Radek's grip is very big.
Then you can think, what if he really had his sticks...
JacKKyKung
Semi-Pro
How many racquet he borrowed from Djokovic?
0d1n
Hall of Fame
He could have added a few grams of lead to get at least close to his preferred SW, but I guess it DOES mean that player + strings = more important than the racket
and people who insist on only playing with a racket discontinued 20 years ago and who can't find replacements may be kidding themselves in not "being able to switch to a new one". This guy got R. Federer to a tie-break using an 18x20, different feel, flex, grip size racket...so guess what ... Joe Nobody can play just as well against his beer buddies using a Flexpoint Prestige or a PowerBridge 10 or a custom Vantage.My 2 pence
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Rabbit
G.O.A.T.
^On the other hand....
maybe the racket does mean more to guys like us. This proves something we've all said all along, those guys can play with virtually anything. Hacks need help with this that and the other.
Then again, Safin, Ferrero, Scud, Ljubicic and a few other pros prove that maybe the racket does make a difference. They've all changed frames and either gone back or gone down in the rankings.
maybe the racket does mean more to guys like us. This proves something we've all said all along, those guys can play with virtually anything. Hacks need help with this that and the other.
Then again, Safin, Ferrero, Scud, Ljubicic and a few other pros prove that maybe the racket does make a difference. They've all changed frames and either gone back or gone down in the rankings.
slice bh compliment
G.O.A.T.
Thanks, I was thinking he was just really happy with the new Acura RSX.
Kidding. Yes, the X is Pacific's 'cross' logo.
Impressive that The Stepper adjusted so well. He uses a size 5. Does Nole use a 5 or a 4?
If Nole's are 4s, I'm guessing RS had someone build it up to a 5 and naturally string it to his liking.
BreakPoint
Bionic Poster
Yes he could, but if Djkovic's racquets' SW stock is already higher than what Stepanek is used to then no luck in lowering the SW.
0d1n
Hall of Fame
Yup, you may be right, but as you know it's likely that most players get the "base frame" lighter and further customize with lead...and 4-5 grams of lead +- in the head can go a long way in reducing/increasing SW (depending where exactly you place it or remove it from).
Impressive ability to adapt anyway ...
gonzalocatalino
Hall of Fame
http://www.marca.com/edicion/marca/tenis/copa_masters/es/desarrollo/1183492.html
Stepanek: "I had a racket of Novak Djokovic and Andy (Murray) socks."
LOL
Stepanek: "I had a racket of Novak Djokovic and Andy (Murray) socks."
LOL
Its really not that amazing if you think about it. Both racquets are virtually identical when it comes to head size, weight, etc.. I'm sure it didn't take Stepanek very long to get used to Djokovic's frames. If you use similar racquets both from different companies, the differences are marginal.
He didnt play a good match..he lost in straight sets. he's beaten fed before w. his usual gear. This was clearly a case of fed playing a horrible match rather than Stepanek playing a good one
BreakPoint
Bionic Poster
Yeah, that's why he got crushed by Simon yesterday when he went back to using his own racquets. :shock: LOL
If I were Stepanek, I'd be dumping those Volkl copies and switching to Djokovic's custom Wilsons in a heartbeat.
Cup8489
G.O.A.T.
i believe djokovic also uses a 5, they look too big for a 4 with an overgrip to the naked eye.
tarie
Rookie
Djokovic uses a 3.
slice bh compliment
G.O.A.T.
Yeah, you're probably right, man.
Hey, speaking of the Steppah's usual gear, I've always loved Volkls, especially the C10 pro, and I just got a pair of Korda's or Stepanek's frames. They are painted to look like a DNX 9. Melted on some size 5 pallets in the "S" shape, which feels like a Babolat or a Wilson handle.
They came uncut and w/o grommets/bumpers. I cut them off at 27 inches, added the 'pro' yellow buttcaps, and leaded them up in the handle and in the head to match Korda and Radeks' specs. I put on the c10 pro 98 grommets. The thing's a monster.
Was going to put the RSX logo on it, but that would be poseurish. Blank on one, a Volkl stencil on the other. Coincidentally, I saw an 06 Acura RSX type S with a 'for sale' sign this morning. Cool darksilver color and only $16K.
The stickers on the inside of the throat have numbers and they say c10 pro V.E. special. I got numbers 3 and 10, I presume out of a hundred or something.
It's the type of racquet I play with anyway. I love it. If I happened to be in China, I would have handed them to Radek for a few days.
But then, Roger would not have won his lone match at the Masters Cup, hahahah.
Oh, well, sorry for the tangent
Peace,
--sbc
miniRafa386
Hall of Fame
wasnt fed sick and had a bad back?
if only he would have chosen the 'SC' pallet instead.......
slice bh compliment
G.O.A.T.
what is the SC pallet? Different shape? South Carolina?
Is that what you use?
Is that what you use?
ericsson
Hall of Fame
Slice, could you post a pic of that?
Rabbit
G.O.A.T.
Vindication is mine!
How heavy do you have them? RS strings his with a gut cross/main set up and it's none too tight either. He apparently takes all his equipment queues from Korda...
assumed your post was nothing but joking. the SC pallet is the one used on the Attiva racquets...less oblong w. less defined bevels
i dont use that one..I play Becker11Lights w. standard volkl pallets and hard volkl buttcaps
slice bh compliment
G.O.A.T.
Sure, but it might take a few days. Big match today, two old college teammates in town, so we're playing singles and dubs this afternoon....then a busy family weekend. Monday or Tuesday for sure, I'll post a picture.
Yeah, the Volkl hipster I got these from told me they were made for Petr and/or the Stepper...same specs. Quite a bit of lead in the handle, then a bunch of strips at 3 and 9. 13.1 ounces or so, at least that's what mine are up to.
Not kidding, bud, I'll post a picture for you in a few days.
The SC pallet is what you use?
I'm thrilled with the S...it's the one correction needed for the Volkl's I've liked for lots of yrs. With the lead I've added to the handle, the S pallets end up like SCs, even though I lined the strips up in strips lengthwise.
Allright, off to bike, stretch and get ready for some tennis!
Later,
--sbc
nope..as i said, i am using standard volkl pallets w. hard volkl buttcaps on my becker frames. the s pallet def is a little more square than the standard Volkl pallet...i really like the oblong shape of the Volkl standrad pallet on the serve, sliced backhand, and volley...your hand just naturally assumes the right position on anything hit with a continental...can see how people wouldnt like the oblong as much..the ones with extreme grips and such and who dont hit with a continental on many/any shots
dont think a run of 100 racquets is a big enough run to justify. I know when I hit Pmac's old frame..the all black one, they ran like 110 of them on a one time basis and that was years ago....more likely they ran 200-250 of these. appears what they have done is made the normal c-10 keyhole and put it into a custom VE mould or more likely the old Volkl V-Engine mould that was used years ago..so this frame is likely nothing more than the old TR-25 V-Engine which likely shared the c-10 keyhole (excuse me pls if i got the model # wrong) with an unknown layup..
i dont care about the pics..let us know how it hits
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Rabbit
G.O.A.T.
I'd love to see the pics, especially the part where it says C10-Pro.
With the handle lead, you can redo it and recover the grip shape. What you'll need to do is wrap the lead around the top of the pallet, just under where the grip would finish. This keeps it out of the way of your hand and also doesn't affect the finished product too much. I'd get some of the 1/2 inch lead tape TW has, you'll use less.
Keep hittin' 'em!
Forgot to add it is a k blade
Nice mug shot.
slice bh compliment
G.O.A.T.
Okay, I took a few pictures and I've got them in my My Pictures folder.
If you're still interested.....how do I post them here? I tried the ol' rt click, copy and paste, but that's not happening.....and that usually works if I'm posting something from another site or whatever.
Sorry, not very adept with the whole digital/cyber thing.
EDIT:
Let me know if you are still interested in this.
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