I got to hold Sampras' blacked out racquet in Westwood, CA!
The racquet was leaded to death at from 10 o' clock to 8 and 2 o' clock to 4 o'clock. Looked like two layers. Then a small third layer, about an inch long was added at 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock. Overall, it was 390 grams. There were power pads also. Plus the grip was huge! Almost five inches and very round.
I do not know if it was a Babolat Pure Storm Tour, the racquet he used last year. The beam was more rounded. It literally felt like a frying pan.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Chin Be on
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hmmm doing a bit of converting at that is almost 13.8 oz. That's a bit heavy!
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Permalink Reply by Mark / The Mayor on
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So Tim, tell us how this came about. How do you know it was one of Pete's sticks? The huge grip does not surprise me ; sounds like it has been built up and that is why it is more rounded. I'd love to take a few swings with it and see how it do.
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Permalink Reply by Tim Prapong on
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I have been a customer of Pete's personal stringer's shop. As a loyal customer, I brought my tennis partner along for additional business, and was checking all the autographed tennis balls. Rick pulls out the racquet and shows me the racquet.
Well, getting the chance is out of the question. But you can try the same setup on your own. Put lead in the same spots. The only thing I do not know is whether silicone was injected in the handle. The handle was not molded, seemed round.
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Yeah, just ask Rick if you can borrow it for a few days. Mail it to me; I promise to take good care of it.
;-)
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After what happened to his trophies, I think you'd have Pete following you. ;-/
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I know! Crazy right??!?!?!
But it was awfully embarrassing that he was keeping his trophies in a mini-storage unit.
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My friend tells me he has a blacked out 85 square inch racquet. He lives close to Griffith's Park and so I tell him it could be one of Pete's racquets because some of his trophies and memorabilia were recovered at the park.
Well, turns out it's a racquet with "TAD" on the buttcap. He doesn't know what brand it is.
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Permalink Reply by Coach Dudley on -
TAD, T. A. Davis was a maker of top of the line wood racquets. I remember the Classic and the Imperial, both beautifully made. Those days, wood racquets were available in larger grip sizes, 4-7/8 even 5 in, so I assume the butt caps were too. That might be why Pete's racquets had an old TAD cap since no current manufacture makes anything larger than 4-5/8 in.
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I suggested T.A. Davis to my friend as the possibility but he thought it was some other brand with a four or five letter name. But your theory seems in line with mine, that this racquet is actually Pete's lost racquet!
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That is correct, Chin.
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