Well, I finally got back in town late this week and took this bad boy (CX 200 16x19 TOUR) out to hit for 3 hours yesterday, and another 1.5 hours tonight.
Initial Observations:
- I LOVE the paint scheme, and overall aesthetics of the racquet. I won't try to rehash too much whats already been said above, but I will say that the black matte, with glossy red accent is very catching. When I was at my local club yesterday evening, people noticed the racquet, inquired about it, and wanted to hit some with it. The red paint scheme, when paired with the "Dunlop" stencil was thoughtfully laid out which was cool. I also like the fact Dunlop put a lot more specification info on the inner throat than most other manufacturers (i.e. Stiffness, etc). I have a lot of familiarity with Wilson, Babolat, and Head racquets and I can say the grip geometry is most closely associated with the Babolat style grips. Meaning, the octagon isn't quite as "circular" as a Wilson, but not anywhere near as elliptical/oval as the Head grips. With a Gamma Supreme Overgrip, dampener, and head tape, the racquet measured in at 344g (12.10oz). One other thing of note, and you can hopefully see in the side-by-sides below, the grip is in fact a little longer than the other pictures shown- so if you have very large hands, and prefer a 2hbh, you might like this.
I laid out a side-by-side comparison of some other frames I have- from R to L: the Dunlop CX 200 Tour (95sq in- 16x19), Pure Storm Tour (98sq in-16x20), ProStaff 97 (97sq in- 16x19), and Six.One 95 (95sq in- 16x18).
Hopefully the picture above outlines the dense arrangement of the string pattern even compared to the 16x18 Wilson Six.One.
My initial thoughts are generally very positive with this racquet. I'd say it plays quite similarly to the Babolat Pure Storm Tour / Control Tour line up. However, it has an even more plush feeling to it with no sense of a hollow feeling to it- which would be expected from its low stiffness (RA64) rating. Coming from someone who had major elbow issues a few years back this racquet was very arm friendly. Normally when I hit with my Storm I can feel soreness in my elbow but even after hitting back to back days, and 3 hours on the first day, my elbow (along with my shoulder and wrist) all feel GREAT- which, for me, is a HUGE plus with this frame. I found this racquet to really be all about control- as long as I kept the ball near the center of the frame I could play my shots with lethal accuracy. It's a very nice player's frame- I'm finding I have to swing through it and I really felt connected to the ball- a lot like my Storm Tour. I didn't feel my balls were launching out of control on me unless I hit a ball way off center than the launch angle was noticeably increased. For regular ground strokes, given the dense string pattern I found the launch angle to be relatively low and as I would expect it be. I could generate ample spin with the ball with my 1hbh and forehand. Volley's are solid as well. I'm going to hit with it again tomorrow and try and focus a little more on my serve with this racquet- I think I can get more out of it than I did initially with a little more use. Overall, initially it plays very similar to the Pure Storm Tour model- it doesn't sacrifice control for cheap power- it will reward you for hitting through the ball with solid strokes. I'm very pleased with this racquet initially. I'll continue to post more after Sunday as i'll have a few more hours logged on it.
The grip is towards the longer end, make it two-handed backhand friendly, and it includes a rubber ring that helps tidy up the top of the overgrip installation. The head is long and narrow, longer than any other 98 I have on hand for quick comparison, and there is a definite change in the geometry around 10:30 and 1:30. Main string spacing is relatively even but the crosses are much more dense in the center. I plan to start playing with it tomorrow morning.
