which adidas is lendl playing? barcelona 1978
- Thread starter wallymann
- Start date
kevin qmto
Hall of Fame
Adidas Grand Prix. Fiberglass composite frame.
wallymann
Rookie
kevin qmto
Hall of Fame
Yep. That’s it. Looks like the predecessor to the Adidas GTX.
Sanglier
Professional
I believe Lendl was playing with the "graphite", not the "fiberglass". The former is black, the latter dark blue. Although the photo doesn't have enough resolution to show definitive details and is in black and white, the length of the lettering at 12 o'clock appears more consistent with the shorter "graphite" wording than the somewhat longer "fiberglass".
The "graphite" was available at the same time as the "fiberglass". The two models shared the same mold but the former was priced 50% higher than the latter due to its 70/30 graphite/fiberglass layup, producing a flex of 55 RA. Compared to contemporary first generation (100%) graphites, it was relatively flexible and much more affordable. Other up-and-coming pros who were interested in riding the new technology wave could also be seen using this model at the time, including a young Mary Carillo, who went on to do racquet reviews for World Tennis as she transitioned to a successful career in broadcasting.
We have discussed this racquet a number of times in the past, including this thread from last year. I am still of the opinion that it was made by another Austrian ski maker, who used the opportunity to dip their toes in the rising tide anonymously, instead of diving in head-first following the lead of Kneissl and Fischer. As is evident in this side-by-side comparison of the "graphite" with its contemporary Kneissl-made "CDJ2000", they are not genetically related.
The "graphite" was available at the same time as the "fiberglass". The two models shared the same mold but the former was priced 50% higher than the latter due to its 70/30 graphite/fiberglass layup, producing a flex of 55 RA. Compared to contemporary first generation (100%) graphites, it was relatively flexible and much more affordable. Other up-and-coming pros who were interested in riding the new technology wave could also be seen using this model at the time, including a young Mary Carillo, who went on to do racquet reviews for World Tennis as she transitioned to a successful career in broadcasting.
We have discussed this racquet a number of times in the past, including this thread from last year. I am still of the opinion that it was made by another Austrian ski maker, who used the opportunity to dip their toes in the rising tide anonymously, instead of diving in head-first following the lead of Kneissl and Fischer. As is evident in this side-by-side comparison of the "graphite" with its contemporary Kneissl-made "CDJ2000", they are not genetically related.
kevin qmto
Hall of Fame
Interesting how Lendl technically went from Adidas to Kneissl and back to Adidas.
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