Prince O3 White and the nOn-symmetry

I have been using the Prince O3 White for 2 weeks now.
Just a couple days ago, I hit 3 aces, 4 down-the-line passing shot on the right side winners and two inside-out cross court winners during a couple of intense doubles sets.

I usually get about 1 ace per two sets against the same opponents. So hitting that 3 aces in two sets really got me pumped up about the O3 White. (We have played together for years, so they know my serves very well)

The down-the-line passing shots and inside-out cross court, were not something uncommon for me using the Yonex MP-5i HS, but it has not been consistence since I switch to this new racket. So, to be able to do that again with the new racket, pin-point to my intentions, was really refreshing to me. I realized that I am at one with the racket now, after only 2 weeks.
Prince O3 White vs. Yonex MP-5i HS
Prince O3 White is definitely a little stiffer than the Yonex.
Slightly lighter, well very slight, 0.1 oz. lighter. The Yonex is 11.4 oz. while O3 White is 11.3oz. However, it feels a lot lighter during play so it means that the swing speed is better.
Slightly shorter, since the HS is the extended version.
O3 White is a little more powerful… I had to increase the speed of my top-spin a little to fix that problem. I also string the racket with 17 gauge string to improve the top-spin and feel as well.
Stability (against torque)… equally great on both rackets.

So the verdict is that, the O3 White is better for my game is two major factors.
Firstly, the slightly more powerful stick help with my play as far as less exhausting on defensive plays and a little more put away power.
Second, the head speed is a lot better. This changes everything, more energy can be transfer to the ball.
Interesting Fact:
The Prince O3 systems use the large “O ports” to free up the string.

They system claim to create more movement/adjustment to create a larger sweet spot (should be sweet zone, because scientifically, the sweet spot has to be a point). So the system only work when the strings have significant movement. Meaning, it’s just another regular racket, unless you hit the ball hard.

Thanks to the “O-port” system, the racket is NOT symmetrical! The string have to alternate in both direction in order to string a racket… so to make that happened, the “O-ports” had to shift one slot, to receive the returning strings.

Aerodynamically, it should have an effect to the swing. It should have a weight balancing issue as well.

However, I have been using the racket without noticeable trouble… well, I have not heard of any complain from Sharapova or Coria (despite his tour results).

US Men's Clay Court Pics

It was a marvelous night at the Westside Tennis Club in Houston, Texas.

The weather was perfect. Mid 70 degrees, slight breeze and cloudless for the most part. The showdown was between the gun slinger, Texas born, hometown favourite Andy Roddick vs. the currently 5th ranked player in the world, Tommy Haas from Germany.

Andy Roddick put some muscle into good use, using his power serve to set the pace early in the game. Controling his serve but unable to break Tommy Haas' wonderful defence.

Andy Roddick's serve topped 140 mph at times, putting a lot of pressure on Tommy Haas. And took the first set 7-6 after cruising in the Tie-Break thanks largely to the serve.
But Tommy Haas is not ranked 5th in the world for nothing. He has a very well rounded game and it almost seems that he does not possessed a weakness. He served at about 115mph but with great location and unpredictibility. Going in the game, he seems to have a very good game plan. Attacking both corners at will and put a cross court drop to the forehand side of Roddick 10 times!! And won 9 out of 10 times he did his drop shots.

The the second set, he manage to break Andy Roddick's game and hold serve to won the set 6-4. Then in the third set, Andy Roddick looked out of gas (maybe he serve too hard) and his mediocre backhand top spin was the favourite target of Tommy Haas. Then when Tommy Haas was up 5-3... Haas delibrately took a rest to give Roddick a game by love. Conserving his energy for his serve at 5-4, and closing out the game with ease.

It was a great game to watch because both players played so hard and with quite a different style. Andy Roddick is a power serve, power forehand banger. Tommy Haas on the other hand is a ball placer, who make his opponent work hard and run like a rabbit all around the court.

Roddick could have use a better backhand to his overall game. His powerful serve would work well for him to be a serve and volleyer... but he is not. Tommy Hass does have a better defence, and better consistency. He does not have a killer finishing shot, but he does have a superior game plan (10 identical drops winning 9, was impressive).

***

Update on the new tennis racquet:
The O3 White is great to play with. I am still adjusting to the more powerful stick (my older tennis racquet are of the softer sorts), quite a few of over shot (constantly 6" or so), but the direction is right where I wanted it. I have to learn to put a little more spin on the ball or at times take a little off my swing.

Happy Holiday Melissa Theutiau

Happy Friday.

Here's 3 picture of the wonderful gift from France... the holiday weekend.

Melissa Theutiau


These pictures are from a wonderful dedicated site... here.

US Men's Clay Court and Tennis racquets

Tonight should be fun.

A few of the my tennis sparing regulars and I are going to watch Andy Roddick playing Tommy Haas tonight at the US Men’s Clay Court Championship. A late game feature Blake and Fish will also be amazing to witness. I will post some pictures next Monday to share with you.

I bought a new racquet this week.
The reason is to realize that I am not a teenager anymore. Well, I have been playing tennis competitively since I was 15. I was never the strongest player, but since I have traditional long swings to both sides of my shots, I can always create shots that can penetrate the better defense. To help with the lack of true power, the compensation comes from precision and placement of the ball… leading to finishing them off at the net.


I was using a Yonex MP-5i for a long time… and before that a Dunlop Revelation Tour. Strung at 2 lbs. under maximum tension. If you get the drift, they are both softer, low power frame with great precision. I love these racquets because I can put the ball almost where ever I want and they have really good feel to play with. Yonex always have good feel. Problem is that my opponents, especially my sparing partners are both stronger people, using power sticks. EC uses the Wilson Sledgehammer 2.0, MT uses the Wilson Sledgehammer 3.8 and KS uses the Prince Shark. MT plays with both precision AND power, while EC and KS are bangers.

I am fine with the score against them but as I am aging, the effort that I need to beat these guys was becoming greater. I have to swing the heavy, softer frame a lot harder lately. And subsequencely, my wrist and my elbow are feeling the pain of such effort. My wrist had been in constant pain lately… I might have to see a doctor soon.

Finally, I told myself, enough is enough. I am now playing recreational tennis with target to play the area double tournament. With emphasis to beat my sparing partners and gain the bragging right every week. So I decided to step away from my comfort zone of soft, precision racquet frame to the more sophisticated, newer frame… to compensate to my inevitable ageing process.


I went to get a bunch of demo sticks at a local pro shop. They include:
Yonex RDS 001, Yonex RDS 003, Prince O3 Hornet, Prince O3 Tour, Prince Shark and Wilson nSix-One Tour.

The following is my personal opinion.
Yonex RDS 001
Good Precision, low power… less power than my current racquet Yonex MP-5i. Hewitt's new racquet.
Yonex RDS 003
Good Precision, low power… feels just like my current racquet Yonex MP-5i.
Prince O3 Hornet Hybrid
Good Precision, medium power… feels great. Love the lighter weight and the power that I get from my long swing. The structural design is beautiful but it has an aweful paint job. Still I have decided to get this one.
Prince O3 Tour
Great Precision with a lot of pace, if you hit it with all out effort. Low power and unstable if you hit it lightly.
Prince Shartk
Good racquet, heavy frame but not too agile at the net.
Wilson nSix-One Tour
Beautiful and Roger Federer is using it to win Grand Slams. This racquet is like the Prince O3 Tour, with slightly smaller sweet spot. It needs a lot of effort to use this racquet. But if you hit it right, you care rewarded with pin point precision and power.
Unfortunately, I am not Federer… neither is everyone else.

So after 5 days of testing them and pick out the Prince O3 Hornet Hybrid, I went back to the store and I bought the Prince O3 White… ( Yes, the O3 White Sarapova's current racquet. The stats are about the same, but with a little more power, a little bigger sweetspot… but boy… what a beautiful stick!! The structure and paint job are almost perfect (architectural speaking). Architects never like symmetrical design and let me tell you, the pure O3s are NOT symmetrical. The O-ports are design to situate slightly OFF from one side to another.

I took the leap of faith and thankfully I love the racquet. It fits well with my game. The Prince O3 racquets actually become more stable if you hit harder. Sounds fictional? Well, the O-ports only work when the string bends at higher angle (hitting it hard). As you hit it hard, the string bed bends to create a larger sweet spot. So if you are a soft hitter or a beginner… forget about the O3… you are just throwing your money away.

I will probably get another one next month. And did I mention that it looks Oh! So pretty?