Where to go from a Prince Graphite Midsize?

[GeoffB]

I'm thinking about changing racquets, and hoping someone can advise me on what to demo.

Right now, I play with prince graphite midsize, and they are pretty excellent in many ways. I hit with a lot of topspin for a club player, two handed backhand and kick serve, and the open stringing pattern gives it a lot of bite and really imparts spin on the ball.

That said, I wonder if I'm giving up too much power. None (almost none?) of the pro players with this style of game are still with the prince graphite, so I've been figuring maybe there are new racquets (or maybe strings) that can keep the same level of control and spin but put more power and pop on the ball. Babloat seems to be one possible direction...

Anyway, I'd appreciate any advice/feedback...

 

[larry10s]

go with a vantage 95 or 100 sq in frame to your specs. i demoed kbt, becker 11, k6.1 95 16 x18, yonex rds oo2 tour, and found all of them alittle to low powered for me the vantage i use now 95 sq in 12.1 oz strung, 12,4oz with dampener and overgrip, 9 points headlight,16x19, is just the right amount of control and power for me. old school feel, great service, vantagetennis.com. i am not on team tennis just REALLY like their racquets.

 

[matchmaker]

Prince graphite midsize do you mean the Prince Origianl Graphite (POG) because there are quite a few Prince graphite midsize racquets.

 

[GeoffB]

this one...

http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/descpageRCPRINCE-GROMS.html

this looks like the same racquet - though mine are an earlier model (I've heard that Prince changed the material and the new ones are a bit lighter, to the chagrin of some players looking for a replacement)...

The thing is, I'm not necessarily looking for the closest match. I asked a guy in a pro shop what people move to from these Prince racquets, and he said there were two answers 1) they don't move, they stay with the prince graphite, or 2) they move to the wilson racquet that Federer plays with.

Thing is, I'm not sure the prince graphite is quite right for my game, since I'm more of an aggressive baseliner. So I'm actually willing to make a major change... I've been thinking of maybe a Babolat... but I figured I'd ask around a bit first.

 

[Cup8489]

if you have the earlier models of the POG, switching to a babolat is not necessarily a good idea, because theyre alot stiffer. also, if your game works with the POG's, why switch?

Don't fix it if it's not broken. If you're competitive, dont try and switch, because i'm sure by now your game is attune to using these, and you could throw yourself off for a while.

 

[Dot]

STAY with POG....I'm a former competitive player and have tried a ton of new racquets I'm back to POG mid... try newer strings and tension to get more power if that is what you need before changing racquets. Just my opinion but my game is way better now and I'm a 43 yr player 4.5-5.0 player.

 

[GeoffB]

what strings would you recommend?

I string my racquets fairly tight (67lbs), which is a couple higher than the recommended range. I tried stringing at lower tensions, but I really didn't like it. I felt like I suddenly became a much more hesitant player, worried about keeping control. I also tried the prince topspin string, but I didn't like the 15 gauge - and I think they call it "topspin" because it's durable and lasts longer for topspin players - it doesn't particularly seem to enhance spin. I liked ProBlend - super stiff, but I don't mind that, and the control and durability worked for me. Unfortunately, it does take a toll on the arm, so I gave it up and accepted that I'll be breaking a lot of strings...

Anyway, what would you recommend for a reasonably durable string that works well with heavy topspin strokes?

 

[GeoffB]

Oh, I should add, one of the reasons I'm considering the switch is watching Nadal play. Of course, I'll never move or hit the ball anywhere close to the way he hits it, but I've heard that the babolat and strings have greatly enhanced his ability to place the ball with heavy spin. I've noticed that I can attack a player at net by forcing him to hit up at the ball by hitting a diving topspin shot, rather than trying to pass, and it works quite often. Not sure it's a great direction for the beautiful game of tennis, but if it works, I want to do it

 

[GS]

I played with POG Mids for years till they cracked in the lower head area, then wanted a bigger sweetspot, so I graduated to the Precision Graphite 640 for its 95 sq in head. Then when the graphite on these went soft, I went to the NXG Midplus, a 100 sq in beauty. Prince all the way!! (Otherwise, I would of gone to the Pure Control or Storm.)

 

[Cup8489]

I string my racquets fairly tight (67lbs), which is a couple higher than the recommended range. I tried stringing at lower tensions, but I really didn't like it. I felt like I suddenly became a much more hesitant player, worried about keeping control. I also tried the prince topspin string, but I didn't like the 15 gauge - and I think they call it "topspin" because it's durable and lasts longer for topspin players - it doesn't particularly seem to enhance spin. I liked ProBlend - super stiff, but I don't mind that, and the control and durability worked for me. Unfortunately, it does take a toll on the arm, so I gave it up and accepted that I'll be breaking a lot of strings...

Anyway, what would you recommend for a reasonably durable string that works well with heavy topspin strokes?

i suggest a co-polyester setup, possibly 16 or 17 gauge Topspin Cyberflash, around 58 lbs. it sounds low, but the stringbed will feel similarly stiff to whatever you string with now, and it will give you less pop, more control, and more spin, assuming you dont change your swing. this is the setup i currently use in my POG's, and my 03 Tours

 

[jasonchu]

I'm thinking about changing racquets, and hoping someone can advise me on what to demo.

Right now, I play with prince graphite midsize, and they are pretty excellent in many ways. I hit with a lot of topspin for a club player, two handed backhand and kick serve, and the open stringing pattern gives it a lot of bite and really imparts spin on the ball.

That said, I wonder if I'm giving up too much power. None (almost none?) of the pro players with this style of game are still with the prince graphite, so I've been figuring maybe there are new racquets (or maybe strings) that can keep the same level of control and spin but put more power and pop on the ball. Babloat seems to be one possible direction...

Anyway, I'd appreciate any advice/feedback...

If i had a Prince POG, i'd go to a Prince Graphite II for more power and same feel.

 

[ratm355]

before you go changing rackets, I would highly recommend you try a full natural gut setup with your racket. It'll add power and spin. Babolat Tonic+ is supposed to be a pretty good bang for your buck with natural gut. You could do 15ga on the mains and 16ga on the crosses if you bought two sets. It will hold tension soooooo much better than any polys you try too.

 

[rockbox]

If i had a Prince POG, i'd go to a Prince Graphite II for more power and same feel.

They feel nothing alike.

 

[rockbox]

before you go changing rackets, I would highly recommend you try a full natural gut setup with your racket. It'll add power and spin. Babolat Tonic+ is supposed to be a pretty good bang for your buck with natural gut. You could do 15ga on the mains and 16ga on the crosses if you bought two sets. It will hold tension soooooo much better than any polys you try too.

I'm a big gut proponent but not on a POG 90(very open string pattern) with a person who already says he's a string breaker.

I think you should try polyester or a poly hybrid. I would try luxilon first since they are the market leader; BB original, Alu power or rough. If you want something cheaper, I like Pro Supex Big Ace.

If you want to try a different racquet all together. I would try a whole bunch of racquets and see what you like, because nothing plays and feels like the POG 90 which is the reason they sell it after 25 years. Here are some racquets you should try in different sizes.

90 sq in

Head Prestige mid
K90
Dunlop ag100

95 sq in
Head Prestige Pro
Babolat Pure storm limited
Head Radical Pro
K95

100 sq in
Aeropro drive
Aeropro storm

 

[noosense00]

The Prince POG is a very unique racquet and you are not really going to find anything out there that is too similiar. One of the unique attributes of the racquet is the extremely open string pattern.

I agree with DOC, and stay with it.

I have played with that racquet for over 15 years until last year when I switched to the Fischer M-Pro 98 (pressure of model technology caused me to switch). I would definitely try a new string set-up which would give "new" life to the racquet.

 

[ratm355]

I'd still say the gut is worth trying once...maybe string it a little looser than you do now for some more durability. Like I said, at least use 15 gauge on the mains.

Another string to try might be Gamma Marathon DPC or Head Rip Control. Never played with either of these myself, but they might be good alternatives to polys.

There are plenty of good rackets around too...
I've played with the Prince Ozone Tour and Babolat APDC and found both of those to get real good spin. Some others you might want to try: Becker Pro, Becker 11 Mid, Head Microgel Radical Pro, Gamma T-7, and take a look at the Fischer rackets too.

I'd suggest doing one round of demos with some variation in the rackets to decide what you like and then another round to narrow it down to one racket.

 

[GeoffB]

will try the luxilon

Thanks for the replies. I did a bit more research on the POGs, and I think I do want to stick with them for a while. I actually didn't know how unique the racquet and especially the string pattern is, but now I have a better understanding of why 1) I use so much spin to control the ball, 2) why I like to string my racquets so much tighter than most players I know, and 3) why I bust so many strings =(

I think my strategy for now will be to stick with the POGs, try luxilon, and learn to string my own racquets.

BTW, what tension would you recommend for the luxilon? I don't mind a stiff racquet (I typically string at 67lbs) - would this work for luxilon?

 

[BkK_b0y14]

^^ 55-57 lbs. anything over 60 with luxilons will just punish your arm. I agree with the above posters, the POG is very unique and pretty much is a combination of all the good classic rackets in my opinion. For groundstrokes, no other racket beats the POG. But my POG's are getting pretty beat up so I'm deciding whether or not to get a new batch or switch to some newer "technology." I hit with the Pure Storm Limited that past few days and it is an awesome racket. Pretty similar feel to the POG except that it's flexible and has a closed pattern which allows less spin. But I've seen tons of people put massive topspin even with closed patterns so it's totally do-able. So if you want to demo a few rackets definitely put the PSL on your list.

 

[EC230]

Hey GeoffB,

I've previously played with Luxilon Alu 16 in my POGs. For me, it felt the best (blend of power and spin) at around 58lbs...which is significantly lower than what you're accustomed to. But this allowed some feel without it being too harsh. However, I've since strayed away from Luxilon due to cost (since it would only last me about 8 - 10 hrs of play or it would lose tension too fast). Anyways, give it a try, you might find what you need with it.

E

 

[jayserinos99]

Geoff, what strings are you using now? Now, there are different strokes for different folks and when I used the POG mid, I used a nice multifilament at a low tension. I also added lead tape to the 3/9 positions. All in all, when using the POG it hit a real heavy ball with some nasty popping spin. It also was very good at the net with the added stability from the lead tape. I really wish I could have stuck with it but the stiffness of the POG got to me over time.

Anyway, one setup you may want to look into is a natural gut mains, poly crosses string job. The one problem with this setup is that the poly crosses lose tension faster than the natural gut mains. Another setup that I normally use is natural gut mains and Isospeed Professional crosses; this setup is named after the poster who created it, called the Mojo. It gives good ball pocketing and isn't overly powerful. Also, as soon as the strings settle, they lock in and don't move which should help with string breakage. Lastly, even though you mentioned some arm problems with stiff strings, you can go the poly route since you want that control+spin, provided you just lower the tension by 10% (so, since you string at 67, you can go down to 60-61 lbs). And if you look in the strings forum, nickb's got a poly review thread that may help. Good luck!

 

[GeoffB]

Babolat

Yeah, I'm very tempted to try Babloat, I think it would suit my game pretty well. I've been leaning a bit more to the Roddick one (though without the extended length).

As for strings... I vary it a lot, still taking recommendations and looking for the right one. It sounds like Luxilon actually might not be a good choice for me, since I don't want to play with a string that loses tension too quickly. These days, I only get to hit a couple times a week, so a string that loses tension in a day or two would be nearly useless to me.