Racquet Recieved: CX 200 Tour 16 x 19
String and tension used for test: I played with the pre-strung Dunlop Silk for the first 10 hours, I am guessing it was strung near the high end of the range (range for this model is 45-65 lbs). Then I switched to Head RIP Control 17 in a full bed at 55 lbs for the final 8-9 hours of the test. I played with a Luxilon Elite Dry overgrip and used a dampener during the first 10 hours and no dampener after that. With overgrip, but unstrung the stick weighed 315 grams. Fully dressed the CX Tour 16x19 weighed in at 330 grams.
Tennis experience/background: I played a lot as a kid (and year round from 12-18), playing junior tournaments and on my high school team. Then took 10 years off during and after college. I've now been back to the game for about 8 years and love it more than I ever have. I am 38 years old, rated 4.0 and consider myself towards the top of that level. I play once or twice a week typically.
Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley): I am a 6'3" lefty, who plays an all court style. I always look to get to the net to finish points. I play mainly doubles, but go hot and cold with my singles game. I think I play singles like a doubles player, and this year had a tough time mentally locking into smart singles play/patterns. I hit a one handed backhand that is now the best it has ever been. My forehand is usually my strongest stroke, but over the last 15 months or so has been less so as I've recovered from a wrist injury. My inside out forehand has a bit of a Jimmy Connors sidewinder vibe to it. I generally try to hit ground strokes deep, but also mix in lots of low balls and angles, especially in doubles. I don't hit big serves, but instead hit a variety of spins and placements using my left-handedness to my advantage.
Current racquet/string setups: I've been playing with the Angell TC95 18x20 strung with a variety of multifilaments, my favorite of which is Tecnifibre Multifeel 17 at 57 lbs on a lockout machine. My TC95 weighs about 23 grams more than the CX 200 Tour, but has an almost identical balance.
How many hours did you play with the racquet? About 19 hours so far, which includes wall and serves, 4.0 doubles, 4.0 singles, and drilling and tiebreakers with a 5.0.
Comments on racquet performance: I really like this racquet. I really didn't need much adjustment time, if any. I hit with it on the wall and hit serves when I first got it. Then took it right to a league doubles match a couple of days later. It wasn't until a couple of days ago that I picked up my normal racquet, just to do a quick comparison. The lower power of the Dunlop allowed me to really swing out on my shots with confidence. It is rare that I can go full multi in a 16x19, but the tighter crosses and low launch angle helped maintain control.
-Groundstrokes: My backhand has not felt more dialed in than during this playtest. The Dunlop has almost identical balance to my normal stick, but felt faster which really made my backhand shine. Depth control was solid, as I really didn't have very many shots sailed on me unexpectedly nor very many that felt right but landed long. I like the low launch angle, coupled with the balance and lowish static weight that allows you to whip the topspin if needed to get up and down in a hurry.
-Serves: My serve had the roughest weekend ever right before this racquet arrived. So, my confidence was shaken before I picked up the Dunlop. I felt back on track pretty quickly once the playtest began., maybe because of the lower weight. I don't think serves had a whole bunch of pop with this stick, but that wasn't necessarily my goal most of the time. My partner last time out commented that the shape of my serves and movement off the bounce was really nice. For me, the best characteristic on serves was the point-and-shoot placement, which a different doubles partner noticed and commented on.
-Volleys: This racquet felt fast at the net. As a result I was able to crowd the net during doubles and also felt reasonably likely to connect on quick/defensive reaction volleys. There is also something about volleying with a box beam stick (which this is from the throat all the way up to about 10:00 and 2:00). I didn't often feel instability or a flutter, but something tells me a tiny bit of lead a 3 and 9 may solidify this one on those rare blistering passing shots that you just have enough time to barely get the racquet in front of.
-Serve returns: Once again, the quickness of this racquet won the day on returns. I was able to drive my OHBH returns more often than with my normal stick. That boils down to (1) being quick enough to pull off the stroke as opposed to blocking/chipping it back; and (2) having confidence that the ball won't sail. Not sure why, but lob returns were almost automatic during this playtest. I guess the feel and predictability off the string bed gets the credit here.
General reaction/comments on overall performance: I have to give high marks to this racquet on comfort first and foremost. Because of my wrist (TFCC tear), I've become more in tune with seeking comfort. I had no issues with this racquet to speak of. In fact, I didn't bring my Wrist Widget brace when I hit with my 5.0 buddy, which is the first time I've hit without it after the injury...no issues. I also played 5 sets of doubles a couple of nights ago, no problem.
Also, several of us have commented on the tight cross strings in the center of the stringbed. Not sure why this hasn't been done before, but whoa, Dunlop is giving us the control of an 18x20, with the softer and more lively feel of a 16x19. I think I am going to keep playing this one through the winter, and would highly recommend people give these new Dunlop CX 200s a try. Thanks, Dunlop and TW!
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Thanks again to TW and Dunlop/Srixon. I would have eventually demo'd this frame on my own, but having the ability to string it with my string/tension and not feel rushed to make a decision after a week will most likely result in a new Dunlop/Srixon user.
