Babolat Pure Drive Roddick GT Plus Tennis Racquet
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When I headed out to the court with this racquet, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I was interested to try out the GT version of this racquet as it is a few ounces lighter than the New Roddick Pure Drive Plus. The GT (graphite/tungsten) technology is meant to stabilize the racquet. Of course, this racquet also has an extra half inch in length, which is great for the height challenged (like me) or players looking for a little extra reach.
Groundstrokes
Though this racquet is about 8 ounces heavier than I am used to, I really enjoyed how sturdy it felt. Because the racquet is nine points head light, I didn’t feel like I was lugging around an unmanageable amount of extra weight. It was also surprisingly easy to get used to the extra length. It felt great on the wide balls, though I definitely had to give myself a little more space is a ball was coming right at me. As expected with one of Babolat’s Pure Drive frames, it was easy to create spin. Again, it helped that the racquet weighting made it easy to accelerate up the back of the ball.
Volleys
This racquet proved just as steady at net as it was at the baseline. The extra weight made it a little tougher to maneuver on reflex volleys, but the additional reach and pop it provided outweighed that negative for me. Not surprisingly, my overheads felt fantastic with this frame. I felt sufficient pop and more control than I anticipated.
Serves
Perhaps it’s no surprise that a racquet featuring Andy Roddick’s name seemed to be tailor-made for the serve. It took some time to get used to wielding extra weight on my backswing, but again, because the racquet is head light, it was a reasonably easy adjustment to make. Though this racquet has a significant amount of pop, I could easily control the outcome by adjusting my target.
Overall
Slightly heavier than the standard (non-Roddick) Pure Drive GT frames, the Roddick GT is a great model for high level players. The racquet provides a sturdiness perfect for combating speed and spin from an opponent. If you have a strong serve, you’ll love the extra zip the Roddick gives you.
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