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Babolat
Pure Drive Oversize Babolat’s success as a racquet company can be mostly attributed to one model, the Pure Drive (the blue one). Up to this point the Pure Drive has only been available in a 100 sq in head in two lengths. The Pure Drives have enjoyed tremendous exposure thanks in part to the host of WTA and ATP tour players using the Pure Drives, Andy Roddick and Kim Clisters to name just two. The Pure Drives account for the lion’s share of Babolat racquet sales worldwide. One often repeated suggestion has been that Babolat needed an oversize version of the Pure Drive. Babolat obviously has been heading players and dealers alike and has introduced the Pure Drive Oversize. The
Oversize has a 110 sq in head, is 27.5 inches long, and
features Babolat’s Woofer’s Grommet Technology. The racquet
has moderately open string pattern that lends itself to abundant amount
of spin potential for groundstrokes and serves. The
Pure Drive Oversize will appeal to a much broader cross-section of players,
offering good power and spin for baseliners and superior maneuverability
and touch for doubles specialists. The OS can be tailored to suit a variety
of swing styles and swings speeds. The Pure Drive Oversize is an extremely
versatile racquet making it an excellent choice for men or women. |
Contact 505-299-8052 Or
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"Reviews: |
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Groundstrokes: From the first shot, this racquet was far superior to the other 6 or 7 racquets I have demoed, so far. It fit my groundstroke game much better. The racquet has more power than I am use to, possibly too much. My forehand had better than usual power with more spin and jump than my Prince. My backhand has lots of spin and I was able to drive the ball deep into the corners without working as hard as I have in the past. Even when forced to hit a defensive shot the Pure Drive Oversize enabled to me get a good shot into play and stay in the point. Groundstrokes felt very comfortable with a more muted feel. The racquet has an incredible amount of spin both topspin and slice. Volleys:
The racquet is very quick at the net, even though it is longer. It is
shorter than my Prince by one-half an inch but I haven’t missed
that additional length. Volleys are crisp and have plenty of power. I
was able to get good spin on the volleys which kept them lower. The racquet
has plenty of power, swing too much and the ball will sail long or wide.
Mobility is excellent even when hitting reflex volleys. The racquet felt
very nice and comfortable when I missed the sweetspot or hit off-center.
One other thing half-volleys were easy and effortless, I was simply able
to get down and block the ball back. The combination of power and maneuverability
made these half volleys easy. Service Returns: I hit with a lot of spin on my returns but I can flatten it on my forehand and drive through it. I was able to do both very easily with good results. The racquet supplies plenty of power with good depth. If I over hit the ball it would fly and miss the mark. The key to this racquet is a controlled swing with a lot of spin. Summary: I am forced to change racquets and this racquet is the best I have demoed. It offers everything I am looking for in a racquet especially on serves and volleys. I have about 14 hours of play-testing the Pure Drive and still am having some trouble controlling some of my forehand shots , all the other shots are excellent.
Groundstrokes: This racquet plays so totally different from my current racquet, it is much lighter, more maneuverable, has a different balance that I had a difficult time adjusting to it. I would call is a good overall racquet for groundstrokes. The racquet is on the light side, I think, making it pretty easy to move it around and hit with lots of spin. I was able to get many balls back into play that I could not with my other racquet. This one simply has more power, which I don’t know if this is a good thing or not. I don’t have a problem hitting the ball out and this racquet is definitely more powerful. On my limited groundstrokes I found that I was able to hit deeper more penetrating shots without working as hard which made my arm feel better. I think the Woofer Grommets reduced some of the harshness that I feel with my racquet on off-center hits. I broke the strings and had it re-stung at the lower tension and found I gained more power and spin without having to swing as hard or fast. I preferred it at the looser tension. I really enjoyed the amount of spin I could generate especially when trying to drop the ball at the net rushers’ feet, something I cannot do with much success with my current racquet, or hitting that short cross court angle. At first I did not like the lighter weight but by the end my racquet felt like a brick. Volleys:
I spend most of my time at the net or trying to get to the net, the Pure
Drive Oversize fits my net game. Volleys felt great with very little vibration,
even on mid-hits. The racquet is so quick that even those reaction volleys
were easy to handle with plenty of power. The racquet does penalize you
for swinging too much, there is ample power and a swat at the ball sends
it sailing. The racquet rewarded me for doing less with the volley, simply
block it back. Balls that floated were destroyed, spike volleys were awesome.
The racquet felt cushioned and comfortable. Overheads: The racquets light weight and maneuverability were the key ingredients for me hitting a successful overhead. I found that if I took my time and set-up and tried not to kill the ball, I hit winner after winner. If I did not follow these simple guidelines, I almost always hit the ball long. The racquet’s power is quite obvious when hitting overheads. The key, at least for me, was keep it simple and don’t try to kill it. Service Returns: To my surprise, I returned quite well. I attribute this to its lighter weight, power, and maneuverability. I was able to create more offensive returns than usual. I almost always block the ball back in sort of a neutral fashion. I kept trying to take a fuller swing or put more slice than I needed. When I did this the ball either was wide or into the lower part of the net. When I shorten my backswing and brushed up on the ball, I surprised myself and the other players with a reasonably offensive return with good spin and angle. It was all about placement not power, something I have never been able to understand until now. Summary: The racquet convinced me that at my advanced age, a lighter, more powerful, and quicker racquet is the answer. While it does lots of things better than mine, the lack of weight bothered me; I felt I had a fly-swatter in my hand instead of a tennis racquet but what a fly-swatter. I will demo this racquet again for I think it has a host of advantages over mine.
Groundstrokes: My current racquet is stronger from the baseline. The heavier head allows me to drive through the ball getting deeper penetration. The Babolat felt too light, and lacked stability but I had better placement and is some cases more power. On paper they looked pretty similar but on the court they played completely different. I thought my Hammer was simply a better racquet from the baseline but the more I compared them by alternating sets the more I came to the realization that the Pure Drive is on par with the Hammer from the baseline. A very surprising fact to me. Volleys:
The weight and head light balance make this racquet very easy to volley.
The downside is the lack of weight in the head reduces the “pop”
on my volleys. However after two long sets the Hammer feels very heavy
and I begin to drop my wrist when volleying, with the Babolat I never
felt that heaviness nor did my wrist become fatigued. I enjoyed about
the same depth as with my Hammer but the Babolat offers significantly
more spin and the Babolat has the edge, but only slightly, on power. The
most noticeable difference is how quick the Babolat is on reflex volleys
with those four-at-the-net exchanges. The Babolat has the much better
combination of power, maneuverability, and balance for these exchanges. Overheads: I have always felt that my Hammer was sluggish when hitting overheads but I have never looked at another racquet that had a different balance. I cannot believe how much a difference balance can make in this type of shot. I have always felt slow when hitting overheads. The Pure Drive OS proved me wrong, I was able to create lots of head speed and reach up and snap my wrist for more solid, powerful overheads. The Babolat is the winner in this category. Service Returns: When I first started hitting service returns, I was convinced that the Hammer had significantly better returns but after playing with both racquets for many hours, I am not so sure. The Hammer seems to return harder flat serves better. I can not generate as much spin with my Hammer but I can hit a flatter more powerful return. The Babolat is quicker for those wide serves that requires one to stretch or those into the body serves. I have a tendency to over hit on those floating second serves but the Babolat seem to offer some increased control thanks to the additional spin potential. Also I was able to hit those returns that fall at the feet of the rushing net player plus those sharp angle returns were much easier with the Babolat. Summary: I am still not ready to trade-in my trusty Hammer for the new kid on the block but the PD OS has some very tempting characteristics that make my game better or maybe more well rounded. At this point I would have to say that the Babolat is a better all around racquet than my Hammer but not by much. This is an excellent racquet, especially if you are a doubles player. My usual circle of players feel I play generally better with the Babolat especially returning and volleying.
Groundstrokes: I was able to get every shot deeper with more pace without adjusting my strokes. Plus the lighter weight made me feel I could go all day. I felt I had a lot more power without sacrificing any control. Spin was exceptional. I hit lots of semi-moon balls with reasonable spin and this racquet gave me a lot more spin and the ball seemed to jump or hop more after bouncing adding another dimension to my game. When necessary I could simply block the ball back, allowing me to get into a better position for the next shot. The racquet was very easy for me to get use to and I never felt uncomfortable hitting with the racquet. I was able to pick it up and start playing without any real acclamation or break-in period. For my type of game the Babolat offered increase power, comfort, and feel. The racquet is such a huge improvement over my Chang. Even though this racquet is much lighter and stiffer than my Chang, I felt is was more stable and forgiving. Volleys:
I very seldom volley but the racquet feels very solid on volleying. There
was no vibration and the sweetspot seems very large. The racquet was very
easy to move and I could get most of the balls hit. I felt that I had
more power and the volleys went deeper in the court. Service Returns: Returns are one of my favorite shots and I feel that I am very aggressive, for my level, on returns. My current racquet is a great racquet for returning but is a heavy. The Babolat is much lighter with more pace and spin. I was able to place the return at almost place on the court. I could hit down the line, cross court or drive one of my semi-moon balls deep into the middle of the court with more pace and spin without working as hard. Summary: The racquet is significantly more comfortable than my current racquet, with a larger sweetspot. I never thought I would like a lighter weight racquet; I was completely wrong. It will be my new racquet in sort order.
Groundstrokes: After my last surgery, I had real problems moving that long Super Over-Sized head around and my shoulder hurt every time I hit slightly off centered. I have been demoing racquets for quite a while and found several that were OK but nothing that had any real connection. The PD OS has resurrected my game; the racquet has a little less power but an incredible amount of feel. The shorter length has done wonders for my serve and I am almost pain free. I am able to block back shots with great accuracy and lots of spin. My slice backhand is better than it been in years and I am actually hitting some top. The racquet has just the right balance of weight to stiffness. The racquet has enough power without me working hard but has the same amount of control. When I take a full swing the racquet delivers consistent power with good depth. If I swing too fast or hard, the ball wants to end up on another court. Volleys:
This racquet is the best volleying racquet I have used in years. I can’t
miss! Even the framed shots were dropping in. The volleys were deep and
crisp with good slice. The racquet is so quick with excellent power and
touch. Reflex volleys are solid and the sweepspot seems to cover most
of the racquet face. I even hit a couple of Lob volley winners, a shot
I have never been able to hit with any success. The racquet’s power
and quickness allowed me to hit this type of shot with very little effort.
Touch shots and soft angles were never my strong suit but I hit them consistently
with the PD. Not sure why either. Service Returns: I usually chip the returns at the server’s feet. At first I had a problem with the weight and power but as I slowed down my swing I was able to accomplish what I wanted to do. Swing too hard and the ball sits up and the net player is all over it for the put-away. Once I got the hang of the return the balls were easily directed, lob returns were great because I could wait until the last moment then open my face and with a small swing and let the racquet do most of the work. Summary: The Pure Drive OS is so much more comfortable than my current racquet. I forced to try several others racquets and can say that the PD OS is best racquet out of the 4 I have demoed. The racquet has really helped my game and tennis is fun again. The racquet does make some or allot of difference for an old duffer like myself. I still want to demo several other racquets but in the end I am pretty sure I would make the move to the Babolat.
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