The whole incident reminds me of the nightmare I had last year before the US Nationals. We had Scott from Ohio in our club. This tall player is a very good looper from his forehand. He curves the ball from almost the floor to the forehand. He hits as well as loops from his backhand, and is curly too. I have watched him play at the club yesterday, and I know I’m going to have some touch time if I play him.
Scott is a very smart player. Before the match started, he asked me what pips I use. From the first serve onwards, I’ve felt he knows how to play against the pips player. His serves did not carry much spin - either top or under - but in the range to trouble me. This just reminded me of a player I have played against last December in Las Vegas. I have made this calculation myself that he is using some carbon blade with hard chinese less tacky rubbers like 729 cream.
I won the match 3 to 1 against Scott. He was kind enough to show me his blade after the match. I have found out that he is using Chinese globe 999 rubbers on a yasaka carbon blade. There are some interesting observations I have made when I have played him.
The combination of Chinese rubbers like Globe 999 or 729 cream on a carbon blade is a deadly against pips players. Scott was pushing hard against my long pips, and that created a lot of work me to lift the ball. If that has not worked, it would have been a disastrous for me.
Scott loops with side and top from his forehand. I was amazed at the way the ball curved towards my forehand. However, I have found, the ball did not carry enough top spin but good enough with a lot of power and speed. I was successful in blocking those balls after figuring out the spin quantity in those balls. If Scott has done more hitting from his forehand like he did from his backhand, it would have troubled me.
I’ve felt the combination of globe 999 with the yasaka carbon is good for hitting. Scott has looping skill. If he gets to some tensors like XIOM Omega III Asian, he would really shine well in his top spin game.
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Thanks for the article, though I’m just now reading it a year later. I’ve switched my blade to Donic Epox Offensiv. It has a stiffer quality and allows me to hit harder and drive through the ball better giving a faster forehand loop when I want.
I have switched my rubber as well. I’m currently using DHS Skyline III on both sides. This rubber is a little faster but still allows me to produce enough spin. Though the change as resulted in a faster shot, the touch still feels very good. I haven’t tried a tensor rubber yet but I think I would like to try it eventually.
So far, I’m very happy with this combo and have noticed an immediate change for the positive in recent tournaments.
I hope to be able to play at the club in Salt Lake on Friday Aug 6 as I will be back in the area during this time.
Scott