Yes, that´s how it should have sounded if we played our game in Spain, but for now a simple game, set, match will do.
We won against Öjaby 3-0 today. I won my match 6-0 6-4. Played solid first set, shaky 2:nd. Served to good to be challenged though. Since my team-mate won 10-7 in match tiebreaker the match was won but we still gained focus to win the doubles 3 and 3.
3 games remaining now and we lead with 2 points anf way better match-difference over Nässjö TK. We play Nässjö away in 2 weeks and we can virtually secure the titel there if we win that match. I really hope we do!!
I played with the Pro Tour today. I have a grip-enlarger on and a clafskin grip. That makes the racket weight in at around 375 grams and it´s seriously heavy. I actually feel it´s about 20-25 grams to heavy to get a wicked control i want on my topspin shots. I reckon the Wilson Kfactor 6.1 will play good considering it weights about 25 grams less then my current Pro Tour.
The future will tell..
Have a nice weekend folks :)
lördag 31 januari 2009
fredag 30 januari 2009
Head Pro Tour
Short post today..
Had a decent hit yesterday with our solid nr 1 player. I used my (very) old Head Pro Tour 630 CAP newly strung at 55 lbs with Cyber Power 1,25 mm and regripped with a Gamma calfskin-grip and a Yonex supergrap overgrip.
The Pro Tour is such a solid bat! Amazing stability and spin-potential in this old, flexy frame. I think it will serve me well for the week to come before my Wilson K-Factor Six One 95 arrives. ,,YES I HAVE bought 2 "new" frames from the Swedish site Blocket. Got 2 for a really fantastic price and well worth trying them out before ordering 3-4 more (if I like them) but I really hope i do. I used to like the old classic Wilson Pro Staff 6.1 and this is from same mold, just a little bit stiffer and more powerful. If I don´t like them i can sell them for same or more money and don´t loose a nickel on it..
For u die-hard Pro Tour fans, i will post some pics of them later tonight so you have something to drewl over :)
Had a decent hit yesterday with our solid nr 1 player. I used my (very) old Head Pro Tour 630 CAP newly strung at 55 lbs with Cyber Power 1,25 mm and regripped with a Gamma calfskin-grip and a Yonex supergrap overgrip.
The Pro Tour is such a solid bat! Amazing stability and spin-potential in this old, flexy frame. I think it will serve me well for the week to come before my Wilson K-Factor Six One 95 arrives. ,,YES I HAVE bought 2 "new" frames from the Swedish site Blocket. Got 2 for a really fantastic price and well worth trying them out before ordering 3-4 more (if I like them) but I really hope i do. I used to like the old classic Wilson Pro Staff 6.1 and this is from same mold, just a little bit stiffer and more powerful. If I don´t like them i can sell them for same or more money and don´t loose a nickel on it..
For u die-hard Pro Tour fans, i will post some pics of them later tonight so you have something to drewl over :)
tisdag 27 januari 2009
Time to move on
Yesterday was the final stab in my Fischer-heart!! The Magnetic Tour is now officially not my racket of choice anymore, unfortunately!! I had great hopes for this frame, but it´s simply not suited to my game. The hitting-surface is to big and the power level is to high. I don´t get the control I require.
So, now i´m sitting here with 4 virtually brand new Fischer´s that I can´t (don´t want) to use and we have a game on Saturday. A very important game as well, and I am missing the most important piece of equipment...
Problem will be solved very quick though,, I will restring my ooooooooooooold Head Pro Tour 630 CAP and re-grip them with a calfskin grip and then i´m ready to go again. I used those frames for a very long time in the end of 20th century and i´m very used to them so it should not be any big problems (knock on wood..)
However, I can not play with those frames an eternity as they are very soft and worn out after a ton of restrings so now i´m searching the web again for possible frames. The Fischer M Speed Pro No 1 98' is on it´s way and I will give them a go and see what they do for good on court, but I have set my mind on the Wilson (K) Factor KSix one 95 frame with the 18 * 20 string pattern. I have received excellent feedback on that racket and it will be very exciting to try it. I really like the heavy specs this frame presents.
I just see the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ disappear from my bank-account,,,,
So, now i´m sitting here with 4 virtually brand new Fischer´s that I can´t (don´t want) to use and we have a game on Saturday. A very important game as well, and I am missing the most important piece of equipment...
Problem will be solved very quick though,, I will restring my ooooooooooooold Head Pro Tour 630 CAP and re-grip them with a calfskin grip and then i´m ready to go again. I used those frames for a very long time in the end of 20th century and i´m very used to them so it should not be any big problems (knock on wood..)
However, I can not play with those frames an eternity as they are very soft and worn out after a ton of restrings so now i´m searching the web again for possible frames. The Fischer M Speed Pro No 1 98' is on it´s way and I will give them a go and see what they do for good on court, but I have set my mind on the Wilson (K) Factor KSix one 95 frame with the 18 * 20 string pattern. I have received excellent feedback on that racket and it will be very exciting to try it. I really like the heavy specs this frame presents.
I just see the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ disappear from my bank-account,,,,
söndag 25 januari 2009
Hi! My name is Henrik and i´m a Racketoholic...
Sorry for the no show during this week. I have been to busy with everything so I didn´t have any time left to post a blog-post with a decent content.
So, you might wonder how the search for the holy-(racket)grail goes!?!? Well, to be hounest I think the search will continue. I have now played a couple of times with the Magnetic Tour SL and it´s a decent frame, no doubt about that, but i´m a bit concerned it´s not sufficiant for my level of play. When just hitting easy, soft shots from the baseline it´s very nice, when serving it´s the perfect racket but that´s about it. When I face hard serves the racket seems to be a fraction unstable and you really feel that the stiffness level is just to low (RA 57) in such a large surface, 645 sqcm or 100 sq inches. The flex is sometimes just to big. Same goes for volleys, a little bit unstable. Not the solid feel I had with the Babolat Pure Storm´s.
I have done some experementing also. Different strings, tensions etc and I also added 5 grams of lead inside the handle and 5 grams on 3 and 6 position on the hitting surface but that made the racket swing very sluggish and strange. No control at all with this setup.
I am going to give it a go with a new string during next week and see how it goes. I know I have an opening with another frame, the Fischer M Pro No one 98 NT frame. The specs are about the same as the Mag Tour with the same flex and all, but the M Pro have a smaller hitting surface and that might work very well with the low flex (RA 58)
I might order one M Pro and try it. They are dead-cheap now because Fischer are currently launching the Black Granite line and that makes the older frame hard to sell..
The M Pro certainly looks hot... :)
So, you might wonder how the search for the holy-(racket)grail goes!?!? Well, to be hounest I think the search will continue. I have now played a couple of times with the Magnetic Tour SL and it´s a decent frame, no doubt about that, but i´m a bit concerned it´s not sufficiant for my level of play. When just hitting easy, soft shots from the baseline it´s very nice, when serving it´s the perfect racket but that´s about it. When I face hard serves the racket seems to be a fraction unstable and you really feel that the stiffness level is just to low (RA 57) in such a large surface, 645 sqcm or 100 sq inches. The flex is sometimes just to big. Same goes for volleys, a little bit unstable. Not the solid feel I had with the Babolat Pure Storm´s.
I have done some experementing also. Different strings, tensions etc and I also added 5 grams of lead inside the handle and 5 grams on 3 and 6 position on the hitting surface but that made the racket swing very sluggish and strange. No control at all with this setup.
I am going to give it a go with a new string during next week and see how it goes. I know I have an opening with another frame, the Fischer M Pro No one 98 NT frame. The specs are about the same as the Mag Tour with the same flex and all, but the M Pro have a smaller hitting surface and that might work very well with the low flex (RA 58)
I might order one M Pro and try it. They are dead-cheap now because Fischer are currently launching the Black Granite line and that makes the older frame hard to sell..
The M Pro certainly looks hot... :)
måndag 19 januari 2009
Good start with the new racket
I Recieved 4 brand new Fischer Magnetic Tour SL on thursday and I was so keen on using them that I actually played with them in our league-match in vetlanda on the Sunday. Without having 1 second on court with them i stepped out on the court and luckely the racket played very very well.
First games was a struggle but then I found they rythm and won easy 6-2 6-0 after 15 aces and 0 double faults. Pretty good with a new racket.
We then won the doubles match 6-3 6-0 as well and my mate won his single with a double bagel so a solid 3-0 victory to Team Hagafors.
The Magnetic Tour has a RA (racket stiffness) of 57 which is very low. For example, Babolat Pure Drive have around 70 and the more stiffness the more power. I thought the Mag. Tour had very low power, but man o man was i wrong. It has amazing powerlevel and an crazy spinpotential. It feels a little bit light in the swingweight and i think i will add 10 grams in the head and 10 grams in the handle and see how it works out. I guess it will be needed on hard or claycourts when facing heavy hitters.
This is how the new Magnetic Tour´s look like :-)
First games was a struggle but then I found they rythm and won easy 6-2 6-0 after 15 aces and 0 double faults. Pretty good with a new racket.
We then won the doubles match 6-3 6-0 as well and my mate won his single with a double bagel so a solid 3-0 victory to Team Hagafors.
The Magnetic Tour has a RA (racket stiffness) of 57 which is very low. For example, Babolat Pure Drive have around 70 and the more stiffness the more power. I thought the Mag. Tour had very low power, but man o man was i wrong. It has amazing powerlevel and an crazy spinpotential. It feels a little bit light in the swingweight and i think i will add 10 grams in the head and 10 grams in the handle and see how it works out. I guess it will be needed on hard or claycourts when facing heavy hitters.
This is how the new Magnetic Tour´s look like :-)
fredag 16 januari 2009
A first hit with Fischer Pro No 1
Well.... let me give you an advice! NEVER, EVER under no circumstance, playtest a new racket at 10 pm a tuesday when you have worked all day long! Never... Ever!
I strung up my new Pro No 1´s with a couple of different strings and tensions and took the bats on a testspin. It was indoor on a medium-fast hardcourt with Tretorn Series + balls.
It felt good at the start but I noticed pretty fast that this 320 gram version is A) very string sensitive and B) Very unstable on off-center hits.
When I concentrated and focused on the game this racket is very nice, solid and powerful, but as soon as you are a fraction late or hit an off-center stroke, the rackets vibrate very much and all of the vibrations goes right into the arm.
IF i should continue with those frames I guess I would need to do some heavy customisation-work with them. For example add about 5 grams on each side at 3 and 9 o clock to make the frame more solid and a fraction more power.
However, I want instant love, so I actually orderd 4 Fischer Magnetic Tour SL and they arrived yesterday. They came strung with Fischer Pro No 1 strings but I cut one up and strung it with Pro´s Pro Cyber Power 1,25 mm strings at 53 lbs. I will make a gigantic gamble with this frame and use them first time in our league-game in Vetlanda on Sunday. I know, I know.. Very stupid, but what the heck! No guts, no glory..
Speaking of guts,, Hopefully I will recieve 3 sets of Global Gut natural guts from Emersoncorp in India and 3 sets of Unifibre natural gut from America next week. A playtest-review will be here as soon as I have tried them a couple of hours (if they last so long that is.. the magnetic tour seems to be a string-eater...)
BTW; Here is a pic of the 6 Fischer Pro No 1´s that soon will be on a local ebay close to you...
I strung up my new Pro No 1´s with a couple of different strings and tensions and took the bats on a testspin. It was indoor on a medium-fast hardcourt with Tretorn Series + balls.
It felt good at the start but I noticed pretty fast that this 320 gram version is A) very string sensitive and B) Very unstable on off-center hits.
When I concentrated and focused on the game this racket is very nice, solid and powerful, but as soon as you are a fraction late or hit an off-center stroke, the rackets vibrate very much and all of the vibrations goes right into the arm.
IF i should continue with those frames I guess I would need to do some heavy customisation-work with them. For example add about 5 grams on each side at 3 and 9 o clock to make the frame more solid and a fraction more power.
However, I want instant love, so I actually orderd 4 Fischer Magnetic Tour SL and they arrived yesterday. They came strung with Fischer Pro No 1 strings but I cut one up and strung it with Pro´s Pro Cyber Power 1,25 mm strings at 53 lbs. I will make a gigantic gamble with this frame and use them first time in our league-game in Vetlanda on Sunday. I know, I know.. Very stupid, but what the heck! No guts, no glory..
Speaking of guts,, Hopefully I will recieve 3 sets of Global Gut natural guts from Emersoncorp in India and 3 sets of Unifibre natural gut from America next week. A playtest-review will be here as soon as I have tried them a couple of hours (if they last so long that is.. the magnetic tour seems to be a string-eater...)
BTW; Here is a pic of the 6 Fischer Pro No 1´s that soon will be on a local ebay close to you...
fredag 9 januari 2009
Rackets finally in Sweden and a new gut orderd
Contacted the Swedish Post today and they finally confirmed that my 4 Fischer Pro No 1´s and the Fischer bag have arrived in Sweden and will be deliverd on monday or tuesday next week. NICE! :)
When they arrive the long process of trying many different string setups will begin and it´s a frustrating period as the game is very up and down during that period..
Normaly I use Pro´s Pro CyberPower 1,25 or Big Banger TiMo Banger 1,10 in my rackets, but it´s really hard on my arm and elbow so now when i´m changing rackets I will try a lot of different strings. I have bought a couple of really thin strings, for example Head Synth Gut 18L (1,12 mm) and Gosen OG Sheep Micro 1,12 mm. Those synthetic strings will probably snap within the first 30 minutes but it wil be worth trying atleast. They might work as cross-string in a poly/synth combo.
I also found a very cheap Natural Gut string from India. If I buy 10 or more it only costs 12 $ per set, and that includes the shipping charge! That´s virtually nothing for a natural gut string. It will be very very interesting to try this string and i´m really looking forward to see how it works out. I reallly hope it´s a good, or atleast a decent string. It would feel very nice to have 8 rackets in the bag, all strung with natural gut :))
Well, time to hit the Scooter and slip and slide home. It´s freakin´chilly here in Sweden right now and the asphalt is covered with black ice.. Feels very safe to drive a chinese scooter with tires made of,, well, almost plastic it feels like...
When they arrive the long process of trying many different string setups will begin and it´s a frustrating period as the game is very up and down during that period..
Normaly I use Pro´s Pro CyberPower 1,25 or Big Banger TiMo Banger 1,10 in my rackets, but it´s really hard on my arm and elbow so now when i´m changing rackets I will try a lot of different strings. I have bought a couple of really thin strings, for example Head Synth Gut 18L (1,12 mm) and Gosen OG Sheep Micro 1,12 mm. Those synthetic strings will probably snap within the first 30 minutes but it wil be worth trying atleast. They might work as cross-string in a poly/synth combo.
I also found a very cheap Natural Gut string from India. If I buy 10 or more it only costs 12 $ per set, and that includes the shipping charge! That´s virtually nothing for a natural gut string. It will be very very interesting to try this string and i´m really looking forward to see how it works out. I reallly hope it´s a good, or atleast a decent string. It would feel very nice to have 8 rackets in the bag, all strung with natural gut :))
Well, time to hit the Scooter and slip and slide home. It´s freakin´chilly here in Sweden right now and the asphalt is covered with black ice.. Feels very safe to drive a chinese scooter with tires made of,, well, almost plastic it feels like...
onsdag 7 januari 2009
Good start of the 2009 season
The first tournament for 2009 is now over and it was a pretty good tournament for me...
Pro Supex Cup was played in Vetlanda on a slow Rebound Ace hardcourt surface and I wasn´t seeded at all. It was a 24 man draw and in first round I won 6-1 6-1. In the quarterfinal I played the no 4 seed, a guy I lost to 3-6 3-6 in our only previous meeting 3 years ago, but this time I was very sharp and won easy 6-0 6-2.
Into the semifinal I went and played the no 2 seed and I won 6-1 6-2. In the final I played a very very good player who used to play ITF tournaments and still plays on a very high level. He won 6-4 6-2 but I really played good and had him on the run for most of the match but he was a true fighter and won many points on passing shots when I wanted to finish the point at net.
I got a WC/Alt to the doubles tournament as well. One of the guys in the no 2 seed team was sick so I replaced him. It was only a 6 pair draw and we won semi-final easy 6-1 6-2 but lost the final to the state champions 6-2 6-2. The double final was the 4th match on the final day and both me and my doubles-partner was tired during the entire match.
Today I feel surprisingly fresh in the body despite the 4 matches yesterday. Only problem is my "golfers-elbow" that hurted like hell yesterday but i know it´s due to my rackets so hopefully this problem dissapear now when I have retired them for good....
Pro Supex Cup was played in Vetlanda on a slow Rebound Ace hardcourt surface and I wasn´t seeded at all. It was a 24 man draw and in first round I won 6-1 6-1. In the quarterfinal I played the no 4 seed, a guy I lost to 3-6 3-6 in our only previous meeting 3 years ago, but this time I was very sharp and won easy 6-0 6-2.
Into the semifinal I went and played the no 2 seed and I won 6-1 6-2. In the final I played a very very good player who used to play ITF tournaments and still plays on a very high level. He won 6-4 6-2 but I really played good and had him on the run for most of the match but he was a true fighter and won many points on passing shots when I wanted to finish the point at net.
I got a WC/Alt to the doubles tournament as well. One of the guys in the no 2 seed team was sick so I replaced him. It was only a 6 pair draw and we won semi-final easy 6-1 6-2 but lost the final to the state champions 6-2 6-2. The double final was the 4th match on the final day and both me and my doubles-partner was tired during the entire match.
Today I feel surprisingly fresh in the body despite the 4 matches yesterday. Only problem is my "golfers-elbow" that hurted like hell yesterday but i know it´s due to my rackets so hopefully this problem dissapear now when I have retired them for good....
lördag 3 januari 2009
First hit with (one of the) new rackets
Had a hit today and tried one of my new Rackets, this time a 330 gram version of the Fischer Pro No 1. Strung with a Tecnifibre redcode main and a Yonex 850 cross (came with that combination) strung at around 54-55 pounds.
First impression was that this racket was very solid, decent power, decent spin but amazing control and feel. I played this racket for about 30 minutes in total and man was I satisfied with the answers this racket gave me. I felt i could push so much more and was able to go more flat on approach shots without the ball flying to long.
I guess when I have strung it with my Luxilon TiMo Banger in 52 pounds, this racket will be a real weapon, or atleast i hope ;-)
The most important thing of this racket was that I didn´t feel any pain in my elbow when using it. When I play with the Pure storm team with lead inside the handle to make it more head light and heavy overall I get a medium-pain in the location on the inside of the elbow that cause so called "golfers-elbow". As soon as I played with the Fischer-racket the pain stopped. Must be the racket, because it´s only with the Pure Storm´s I have felt such pain and it´s not fun playing with pain.
Now i´m waiting for the 4 new Pro No 1´s in the 320 gram version that will arrive next week. Hopefully the play the same when i have put on some more lead but I know I will look for 3 more 330 gram rackets....
First impression was that this racket was very solid, decent power, decent spin but amazing control and feel. I played this racket for about 30 minutes in total and man was I satisfied with the answers this racket gave me. I felt i could push so much more and was able to go more flat on approach shots without the ball flying to long.
I guess when I have strung it with my Luxilon TiMo Banger in 52 pounds, this racket will be a real weapon, or atleast i hope ;-)
The most important thing of this racket was that I didn´t feel any pain in my elbow when using it. When I play with the Pure storm team with lead inside the handle to make it more head light and heavy overall I get a medium-pain in the location on the inside of the elbow that cause so called "golfers-elbow". As soon as I played with the Fischer-racket the pain stopped. Must be the racket, because it´s only with the Pure Storm´s I have felt such pain and it´s not fun playing with pain.
Now i´m waiting for the 4 new Pro No 1´s in the 320 gram version that will arrive next week. Hopefully the play the same when i have put on some more lead but I know I will look for 3 more 330 gram rackets....
fredag 2 januari 2009
Beginners misstake
On the last day of the year the first racket of my new rackets arrived with the mailman..
It was very good timing because I was just on my way to the tennis-court so I grabbed the parcel and just cut it open. Very nice, i thought as I saw the cover saying "Fischer Pro No 1" and when opening the cover up, yep it was a Pro No 1 every day of the week, but...
The racket felt very light.. and i mean VERY light!! I quickly looked at the specs inside the racket "throat" and saw " Weight: 285 g"... Crap! I didn´t even know that the red/black/white Pro No 1 was made in an UL version. I want my rackets to be at around 330 grams unstrung and it will simply be to much to add 45 grams of lead to the racket and make it play the same as the other rackets I have orderd (which i know is 320 gram and 330 gram)
I have customized a lot of rackets in the past and i have a very good scale at home that shows the weight within 0,01 grams and with that it´s very easy to fine-tune the rackets to the same weight. The main trick is although to get the racket at the exact same balance, but it´s just to counterbalance with lead and fine-tune more after the playtests to make the rackets equal.
..but if the difference is so big as 45 grams it simply will be to big difference in the carbon-layup in the frame so I have actually already posted an add for the 285 g frame:
http://www.blocket.se/vi/19654589.htm?ca=17_s
Now I have to find a couple more of the Pro No 1´s in either 320 G or 330 G, and that´s not the most easy thing as this model was last made 2005..
I have 5 frames (or atleast 5 frames that will soon arrive) but i need about 3 more. 8 frames is a good number. Then I can have some frames with different tensions on the strings and don´t need to worry about humidity, temperature etc when I play.
I´ll have to take a pic of the racket arriving today and post later. It feels good to track the package online and KNOWING I can pick up a new racket when i get home from work :-))
It was very good timing because I was just on my way to the tennis-court so I grabbed the parcel and just cut it open. Very nice, i thought as I saw the cover saying "Fischer Pro No 1" and when opening the cover up, yep it was a Pro No 1 every day of the week, but...
The racket felt very light.. and i mean VERY light!! I quickly looked at the specs inside the racket "throat" and saw " Weight: 285 g"... Crap! I didn´t even know that the red/black/white Pro No 1 was made in an UL version. I want my rackets to be at around 330 grams unstrung and it will simply be to much to add 45 grams of lead to the racket and make it play the same as the other rackets I have orderd (which i know is 320 gram and 330 gram)
I have customized a lot of rackets in the past and i have a very good scale at home that shows the weight within 0,01 grams and with that it´s very easy to fine-tune the rackets to the same weight. The main trick is although to get the racket at the exact same balance, but it´s just to counterbalance with lead and fine-tune more after the playtests to make the rackets equal.
..but if the difference is so big as 45 grams it simply will be to big difference in the carbon-layup in the frame so I have actually already posted an add for the 285 g frame:
http://www.blocket.se/vi/19654589.htm?ca=17_s
Now I have to find a couple more of the Pro No 1´s in either 320 G or 330 G, and that´s not the most easy thing as this model was last made 2005..
I have 5 frames (or atleast 5 frames that will soon arrive) but i need about 3 more. 8 frames is a good number. Then I can have some frames with different tensions on the strings and don´t need to worry about humidity, temperature etc when I play.
I´ll have to take a pic of the racket arriving today and post later. It feels good to track the package online and KNOWING I can pick up a new racket when i get home from work :-))
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