OZ Open Stringing Room - Day 16

Day 16 Sat 22nd January

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Today is my last day stringing. I was originally rostered to finish yesterday but I still had a couple of players in the tournament so decided to come in. It is Pin's last day as well which leaves 6 stringers from Sunday onwards.

 Arrived at 8.15am. Had one Raonic rkt due at 9am and then another 2 due right before his match. Went to breakfast at 8.50am and came back to find more rkts waiting for me. From 9.10 to 10.30 I did 5 rkts. 2 for Raonic which had been dropped off Fri night plus another he dropped in while I was at breakfast and 2 for Morita which were due at 11am. Busy morning. Then from 10.40am i had 2 RDis 100's to do which were due at 2pm, but I had to do them before Raonic got into his 11am match so that I would be free for his on courts. He sent in 3 on-courts during the first 2 sets of his match with Youzhny. I did each one in 15 minutes. Cut, strung, stencilled, bagged and out the door in 15 minutes. Pretty fast for that rkt. It is a K Blade 98, 18 x 20 pattern with Luxilon M2 Pro at 42/44lbs. I then sat down to watch some of his match. He sent another on-court at the start of the 4th set but we didn't receive it. I sat there waiting with my cutters at the ready and the string measured out but it never came. He won in 4 sets.

Mid afternoon was pretty quiet then it picked up again later on. I was done by 8pm. I went around the room saying my goodbyes. I felt sad leaving. It has been a good tournament. Lots of laughs.

The other day a guy at the window asked "how much do you hate stringing?" I replied that I loved it. Speaking to the other stringers here I know they all feel the same. It sounds crazy but this was a holiday for me. Working 14-15 hour days in an environment where the smallest mistake is a  very big deal. Last year I remember thinking that it was the hardest thing I had ever done. This year it all seems so easy. Hard work, but easy. Maybe it was all of the red bull I was drinking. I know that I can't wait for the next tournament. Whether it's the US Open later this year or Melbourne again next year.  Either way I look forward to catching up with the stringing team again.

Shane Mikic is the proshop manager for the Tennis Gear stores and their online store www.tennisgear.com.au in Brisbane.  He has over 16 years racquet stringing experience and is currently part of the Wilson Global Stringing Team at the 2011 Australian Open.  The following blog shares his experiences during his time in the Wilson Stringing room.

OZ Open Stringing Room - Day 15

Day 15 - Friday 21st January

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Steady day today. Juniors all checking in with rkts. Some of them are giving us 5 and 6 rkts at a time. This is more than most of the senior players will give in at a time. So we are getting busy again. Had one on court rkt today. I was halfway through another rkt when it came in. No phone call. Just a ball kid turning up at the counter with it. I left the rkt I was doing and did it on a free machine. The clamps on the  machine I used were much better than the clamps on the machine I have been using since the start. I just figured the clamp design was bad. Turns out the machine I had been on was one of the originals and the clamps have changed since then. The new clamps are fantastic. Our machines at work still have the original clamps so that is the feel I was used to. I have swapped the newer clamps onto my machine. They make a massive difference.

I made my first and only mistake today. Although it wasn't my fault (I always need a scapegoat).

A rkts came in during the morning and it was needed in 20 minutes. I was still on another rkt. I was given the rkt with no print out listing string or tension. The counter told me Alu Power at 25kg and handed me an alu power spool. I was given the print out after I had measured the rkt and started stringing but didn'y look at it because it was needed in a hurry. As I was bagging the rkt I looked at the print ou on the bag and it said Alu power mains and Sensation crosses!!!!!!!! The rkt was being picked up in about 5 minutes. Quickest string job I have ever done. Mains and half the crosses done in around 7 minutes. The player was late so the rkt was done stencilled straightened and bagged as they walked in the door. Close call. There were a few mistakes today. Misweaving, forgotten power pads, incorrect stencilling,  gut breaking at the tie off. Most of the guys have been here since early January and are getting tired. Limited sleep and long hours over a period of time take a toll. Fortunately no rkts have gone out to players with mistakes in them. They all get caught ahead of time.

I was asked to close. It means that I was the on-duty stringer for the last match of the night. Everyone was done around 10pm. Fortunately matches were quick so I got out of there around midnight. Tomorrow is my last day. Raonic is playing first up. I am expecting a few on court rkts from him. I have 3 to string in the morning immediately before his match.

Shane Mikic is the proshop manager for the Tennis Gear stores and their online store www.tennisgear.com.au in Brisbane.  He has over 16 years racquet stringing experience and is currently part of the Wilson Global Stringing Team at the 2011 Australian Open.  The following blog shares his experiences during his time in the Wilson Stringing room.

 

OZ Open Stringing Room - Day 14

Day 14 - Thursday 20th Jan

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151 rkts. Slow, slow day. I spent most of the day trying to get my internet connection to work. No dice. Vodafone mobile broadband is without a doubt the single biggest frustration in my life. I suspect that my stress induced heart attack will no doubt result from dealing with these idiots.

Did 2 on courts for Raonic. I string 3 rkts immediately before he goes on court and then he sends in a rkt at the end of each set. He cruised in his match today so only the 2 on courts from him. If his nxt match goes to 5 then he is going to keep me busy.

Early night. Back to the room at 9pm. Went next door to buy timtams and grain waves. Ate the tim tams for dinner. Food of champions. Watched some tennis on TV. In bed by midnight. Tomorrow will be busier. The juniors will start checking in.

Shane Mikic is the proshop manager for the Tennis Gear stores and their online store www.tennisgear.com.au in Brisbane.  He has over 16 years racquet stringing experience and is currently part of the Wilson Global Stringing Team at the 2011 Australian Open.  The following blog shares his experiences during his time in the Wilson Stringing room.

OZ Open Stringing Room - Day 13

Day 13 - Wed 19th Jan

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240 rkts today. Things will start getting quieter now. Stringers are starting to leave. It was Joe's last day today. Dickie finishes up tomorrow.

We had tears at the counter early today. A player came in needing a rkt done in a hurry. But with english not everyone's first language the stringer cut the strings out straight away. It was the rkt the player wanted to keep and not the one she wanted strung. She broke down crying at the counter. Mental toughness? Both rkts were strung in time for her match and she was very happy with the result.

Early finish. Home around 10ish

 

Shane Mikic is the proshop manager for the Tennis Gear stores and their online store www.tennisgear.com.au in Brisbane.  He has over 16 years racquet stringing experience and is currently part of the Wilson Global Stringing Team at the 2011 Australian Open.  The following blog shares his experiences during his time in the Wilson Stringing room.

OZ Open Stringing Room - Day 12

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Day 12 - Tues 18th Jan

Fingers a bit sensitive today. Not even close to the pain I was in last year. I had 5 on court racquets today so they took a bit of a battering. Got all 5 done in under 18 minutes. The fastest was 14 minutes. That is 14 minutes to cut out the string, measure the string, mount the racquet, string the racquet, straighten the strings, stencil the racquet, bag the racquet and hand it to the runner. The record for any on court racquet by the Wilson team is 13 minutes.

I had 2 on courts in a row, one after the other. Had just finished one then within 30 seconds had another. Later in the day I had one of my players sending in a racquet for every set he played. I was glad he won in 3. Each time a racquet came in from him there was no phone call letting us know a racquet was coming in. Just a ball kid showing up with a racquet.

Finished early tonight. Had a quiet day. Still strung all day but they were mostly for other players. Had another stringer ask for help at 5.30. He had 2 rkts due at 6pm  but as he finished the first one he misweaved the bottom cross so needed to have 2 done in 30 minutes.

Left the stringing room at 9.30 and went for beers with Joe.

Home at midnight. Put on a load of washing. I have no clean clothes for tomorrow. Plus all of these hours in my shoes has left them very sweaty. Gross. They smell.

Back and neck feel fine. Not having issues standing at a machine all day. The compression socks make a huge difference. My legs feel fatigued when I don't have them pulled up.

Shane Mikic is the proshop manager for the Tennis Gear stores and their online store www.tennisgear.com.au in Brisbane.  He has over 16 years racquet stringing experience and is currently part of the Wilson Global Stringing Team at the 2011 Australian Open.  The following blog shares his experiences during his time in the Wilson Stringing room.

OZ Open Stringing Room - Day 11

Day 11 - Mon 17th Jan

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Have lost track of time. Had no idea what day it was until I checked my phone a minute ago. I wake up, quickly shower, and walk 10 minutes to the courts. Start stringing at 8am and stop around 10.30 or 11 each night. My feet are showing signs of wear. Not looking healthy. The knot of pain that was my neck a few days ago has gone now. Stretching during the day whenever possible seems to have worked. Cannot remember if I wrote an entry about yesterday. Spent hours on a stage, miked up and stringing for everyone to see and take pictures. Under 2 umbrellas but still got burned. Was sweating bullets. We did 378 rkts yesterday. That is the most the Wilson team has done in a single day. The room is a good mix of guys. Have laughed a lot over the last few days.

First day of main draw today. Apart from a few rkts in the morning I did not have many rkts of my own. A lot of my players lost early. Still spent the whole day stringing. 8am to 10.30pm. Was stringing everyone else's rkts all day. Weaving felt good today. Very fast. Have a good rhythm going. Don't think I have been this fast ever. Fingers still feel good.

There has been a crowd watching us the whole day. Like living in a fish bowl. We keep the windows closed for the most part. People taking photos all day with the flash on. Not sure how those pics are going to turn out. We have done well in excess of 300 rkts today. Early start tomorrow.

 

Shane Mikic is the proshop manager for the Tennis Gear stores and their online store www.tennisgear.com.au in Brisbane.  He has over 16 years racquet stringing experience and is currently part of the Wilson Global Stringing Team at the 2011 Australian Open.  The following blog shares his experiences during his time in the Wilson Stringing room.

OZ Open Stringing room - Day 9

Day 9 - Sat 15th Jan

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As of the end of last night we had done 1094 rkts since last Sat. 6 of the 15 stringers had done 100 rkts or more. I was in 3rd place with 102. Vasilly had done 109 and Ben had 124. Ben knows all of the french players so has more players on his roster than anyone else. He works for Technifibre. Last year they paid him to go to Spain for 8 mths and string at various sports stores and centres promoting their products.

Today was kids day. We had a stage set up outside the booth. I was on stage with a microphone stringing rkts and talking to people about rkts strings and equipment I had 2 on courts during this time. Stringing in the blazing sun under a couple of umbrellas is not ideal when speed and accuracy are required.

On stage from 9.30 til 1.30. Lots of pictures.

The afternoon was slow until about 4pm. We got smashed. 238 rkts for the day. Solid day.

Early finish tonight. Back at the hotel by 8.40. Everyone has rkts waiting for them to be done tomorrow morning. Tomorrow is going to be a huge day. We are expecting around 350 rkts. Normally we wouldn't have on court rkts to contend with but qualies are still being played which makes life more complicated. Will be an early night. Maybe 11.30pm.

Fingers still feeling good. Have done plenty of rkts but it is the new technique which is helping me.

Web interview was posted on facebook today.

Spirits in the stringing room are good. Funny guys.

 

Shane Mikic is the proshop manager for the Tennis Gear stores and their online store www.tennisgear.com.au in Brisbane.  He has over 16 years racquet stringing experience and is currently part of the Wilson Global Stringing Team at the 2011 Australian Open.  The following blog shares his experiences during his time in the Wilson Stringing room.

OZ Open Stringing Room - Day 8

Day 8 - Friday 14th January

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Did a web interview today. Or was that the day before. I don't remember. It was posted on the wilson facebook page. Also did 2 live TV interviews. Seems I have become the face of the stringing team here. Wilson are doing interviews with all of the stringers here and posting them on facebook.

Easy day today. Fingers are feeling great. Not strapping them anymore.

Did my forst on court rkt today. Had it cut out, strung starightened and stencilled in 16 minutes. Bab Pure Drive one piece box pattern. 2 piece stringing would save me a couple of minutes on the time but we do 1 piece by default.

Early finish. Back to the room around 11. In bed at 12.30. 8.30 start for Sat.

 

Shane Mikic is the proshop manager for the Tennis Gear stores and their online store www.tennisgear.com.au in Brisbane.  He has over 16 years racquet stringing experience and is currently part of the Wilson Global Stringing Team at the 2011 Australian Open.  The following blog shares his experiences during his time in the Wilson Stringing room.

OZ Open Stringing Room - Day 7

Day 7 - Thursday 13th January

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Arrived at 8.30. 7 hours sleep. Feeling better than yesterday. Croissant and coffee for bfast. Love the staff cafe.

Rain all day. Slow day. Fingers feeling good. Have a full supply of red bull. Also bought washing powder on the way to work. Have a weeks worth of washing to do but have not had time to do it.

Pin spoke to me about my finger. He said why don't you just use it. Good suggestion.

Fingers are feeling good. Have been making a concerted effort to be kind to my fingers today. Looks like being an early finish tonight. Might have time to hit the gym tonight. Saw a pic of the UQ Athletics centre today. Under water. Looks like the courts and pro shop will be flooded too. Feel bad for the guys who work there.

 

Shane Mikic is the proshop manager for the Tennis Gear stores and their online store www.tennisgear.com.au in Brisbane.  He has over 16 years racquet stringing experience and is currently part of the Wilson Global Stringing Team at the 2011 Australian Open.  The following blog shares his experiences during his time in the Wilson Stringing room.

OZ Open String Room - Day 6

Day 6 - Wed 12th Jan

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First day of qualies.

TIRED!!!!! Up at 6.30. Body is telling me it needs more sleep. Throat is sore and sinus playing up. My body's reaction to lack of sleep. It's trying to slow me down. On the machine at 7.15. One rkt due at 8am and 3 more due soon after. More rkts came in for me while I was doing those. Had a racquet due every 30min for the rest of the morning. Flat out. At one stage I was handed 2 racquets both due in 20min. Had to palm one off. Forgot to bring my red bull - Mistake #1. Struggle street. Tried out a new taping method for my fingers - Mistake #2. I need the pads of my fingers free of tape. tape here slows me right down and catches the string too. Slowed me down.

Seems that all of the rkts I got this morning were 18 x 20 patterns. With the 1 piece pattern we are using these are not easy to do in a hurry.

Hit the wall at 3pm. Lack of sleep and food hit me hard. Couldn't concentrate and see straight. Off to the cafe for a quick coffee. If I sat still for long enough I would have passed out.

Had an issue with a player re tension. I did 2 at 53.5lbs for him mon which he played with stright away. Then Tues he went up to 54 and did not use the rkt until wed afternoon. Said the 53.5lbs felt tighter than the 54. The counter staff did not ask the right questions and did not inform him of the tension drop which occurs overnight. So he asks for 54lbs for his wed match in an hour. He likes it. So then drops the rkt in again wed night for a thurs match. Asking for 54lbs. By the time Thurs rolls around it will be too loose. Frustrating. He has not been told. I bumped the tension up half a pound. When dealing with any players. Whether they are social or pros you need to ask questions and educate them. These guys are no different from shop customers.

Rained late in the day which slowed things down. Not too many to do that night.

Flood is all over the TV. What a mess. I picked a good time to leave Brisbane. All of the suburbs around my place are flooded. I live very close to the river and city. All smashed. Home at 10ish.

Shane Mikic is the proshop manager for the Tennis Gear stores and their online store www.tennisgear.com.au in Brisbane.  He has over 16 years racquet stringing experience and is currently part of the Wilson Global Stringing Team at the 2011 Australian Open.  The following blog shares his experiences during his time in the Wilson Stringing room.

OZ Open Stringing Room - Day 5

Day 5 - Tues 11th Jan

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Day before qualies.

Started at 8.30. Slow morning. Rain on and off. From 2pm it was flat out. Did not stop until just after 11. We did 291 rkts. Fingers are sore. Not as bad as last year. 4th finger on my right hand is suffering trauma. Very painful. Rest are fine. Have been taping the tops of my fingers. Good idea. It has saved me considerable grief. Have 4 rkts due tomorrow morning that must be done in the morning. Means I will be in early. There goes my sleep. In bed around midnight. Did not sleep well at all. Got maybe 3 or 4 hrs sleep. Text message around midnight asking if i was ok. Brisbane is flooding. I have not seen a TV or newspaper for a couple of days.

 

Shane Mikic is the proshop manager for the Tennis Gear stores and their online store www.tennisgear.com.au in Brisbane.  He has over 16 years racquet stringing experience and is currently part of the Wilson Global Stringing Team at the 2011 Australian Open.  The following blog shares his experiences during his time in the Wilson Stringing room.

OZ Open Stringing Room - Day 4

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Day 4 - Mon 10th Jan

Racquets started coming in the afternoon. Getting busier. Guys still trying to fix roof. TV's came. We have 4 plasmas. 2 for the match schedules and court allocations and 2 for TV.  Jarrad arrived to start. Ordered more tools. Only one of my Babolat clamps is working.  Team BBQ at Essendon. Late night. In bed around quarter to one. Need sleep.

Shane Mikic is the proshop manager for the Tennis Gear stores and their online store www.tennisgear.com.au in Brisbane.  He has over 16 years racquet stringing experience and is currently part of the Wilson Global Stringing Team at the 2011 Australian Open.  The following blog shares his experiences during his time in the Wilson Stringing room.

OZ Open Stringing Room - Day 3

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DAY 3 - Sun 9th JANUARY

Getting busier. Twice as many rkts today. tried out some new clamp bases for the bairdo. They are dual action rather than single action clamps. Not a fan. I switched back to the orig bases after a few rkts on the new ones. There are also some new clamps as well. much lighter with what seems like a better locking action. Will try some tomorrow I hope.

Finally got credit for the cafe . Free lunches are a reality again. Had the best cheesecake this afternoon. OMG. This food is so bad for me. But oh so good.

Joe arrived today. He was on the team last year and is stringing next to me. He is pretty talkative so should keep me entertained. He was looking at my bab tools and said he had some bab clamps at home the same as mine which he didn't use because they slip all the time. So he offered to send them to me . I have had these clamps for a year and never ever had any slippage at all. None. Zero.

So the very next string job - bang!! clamp slips. FAAAAAAAAARK!!!!!!!!!!! Cut out the strings. First and hopefully the only botched string job for the tment. It was M2 and was working off a spool so luckily we had string there. You  do not want a mistake when working with a single set of string that the player has supplied. Then you have to chase them up to ask for more string .

Clamps continued to slip after cleaning. Pulled them apart to scrub the face with a brush. It seems to have worked. Will see how they go tomorrow.

Len ans Vasilly were having an argument about how fast you could string the mains. I told them 4 minutes. Len says he has seen it done in 2 minutes. That is crazy fast.

We are still without an adequate roof. We have covered all of the machines with plastic just in case it rains tonight.

Had the pre tournament meeting tonight. Covered what was expected. Spoke about patterns, knots and tie offs. Also spoke about problem strings and frames and what patterns we would use for them.

Went out to Shanghai Dumpling House for dinner. Met friends there. Dickie, Vasilly, Tadashi, Joe and Ben all came along. I told them how good the dumplings were so they had to see for themselves. Had this amazing swedish cider. Smelled like ripe strawberries. Looks like I have a new favourite drink. Crazy Swedes.

Shane Mikic is the proshop manager for the Tennis Gear stores and their online store www.tennisgear.com.au in Brisbane.  He has over 16 years racquet stringing experience and is currently part of the Wilson Global Stringing Team at the 2011 Australian Open.  The following blog shares his experiences during his time in the Wilson Stringing room.

Oz Open Stringing Room - Day 2

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DAY 2 - Sat 8th JAN

Left the hotel at 8am.

Accreditation all good, at least for now. First day on deck stringing. Very quiet day. Only did 7 rkts. We are expecting a quiet day tomorrow as well. So i have made dinner plans with friends. Short days will be few and far between over the next couple of weeks.

Still setting the room up. Fridge arrived today. Still no internet.

Fridge is fully stocked with powerade. Water to come but there is now no room for it. Snacks arrived today too. Looks like 10kg of lollies along with the biggest container of animal crackers ever. I called dibbs on the gorillas.

Uniforms were given out today. T shirts plus a hoodie. We got a polar fleece last year. They must not be expecting it to get as cold as last year. I asked for small shirts this year. They only had mediums for me last year and i was swimming in them. The smalls looked ok out of the box. Correct length. Tried one on when i got back to the room. I would need  to have the shoulders of a 10 yro girl to fit this shirt correctly. Skin tight from the chest up. Fits like OJ's glove. Have to swap them for a larger size.

We have no roof at the moment. There is a floor above us and we have a false ceiling that is full of gaps. As a result sawdust is constantly filtering down into the room during the day. We have to cover our machines at night so that they don't get covered in dust.

The other downside of the false ceiling is that it doesn't do a great job keeping rain or water from the garden on the roof as we discovered today. Water came streaming through the ceiling when the guys up top decided to take to the rooftop plants with a hose. Water and electrics are not a good match. They came and patched us up with duct tape. We have a ceiling held together by duct tape. Classy.

My cafeteria pass is not working. $32 of food per day that i am not getting. Need to go to accreditation to get this rectified. But it's ok. I have tim tams and red bull. Athlete food.

Back to the room at around 6.30. Feeling energetic so went to the gym. Good session. Sushi for dinner. Eating tim tams watching the tennis, talking about rkts. Vassily's lost bag turned up today. Got lost somewhere between Chicago and Australia. Clothes, tools and all. When he showed up yesterday with just a backpack we all thought he was packing a bit light.

Meeting in the lobby at 8.30 tomorrow morning. Sunday sleep in. Might go to the gym beforehand.

Shane Mikic is the proshop manager for the Tennis Gear stores and their online store www.tennisgear.com.au in Brisbane.  He has over 16 years racquet stringing experience and is currently part of the Wilson Global Stringing Team at the 2011 Australian Open.  The following blog shares his experiences during his time in the Wilson Stringing room.

Oz Open Stringing Room - Day 1

DAY 1- 7th JANUARY

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Left for Melbourne today. No sign of my police check in the mail. Still. It has been 21 days. Accreditation might be a problem in Melbourne. We have been told no accreditation will be issued without a police check. Was only told about this in December. Have been told by the police that it takes up to 6 weeks. Have been in touch with the guys doing the Sydney tournament. If I don't get a guernsey in Melbourne then they want me in Sydney stringing. Have been checking flights and accom in Sydney. Everything is up in the air at the moment.

Checked into the hotel. Staying at the Medina on Flinders St. 2 bedroom apartment. Lots of space. Caught up with some of the guys for dinner. Todd, Dickie and Tadashi. All 3 did the tournament last year. It is the 4th time Dickie has done the Aus Open. Both Dickie and Tadashi are coaches. Dickie in Hong Kong and Tadashi in Japan. Todd has a restring / customization business in the States.

Went to Stalyctites for dinner. It is the greek restaurant Baghdatis made famous during his run to the final a few years ago. It was busy. We had to queue outside. The staff were rude. The food was average. I had what was essentially an overpriced kebab. Won't be going back.

Heading to the accreditation office tomorrow morning to try and get this mess sorted out. Have refrained from buying any groceries in case i am off to the airport tomorrow. Have a 4 pack of sugar free red bull ofc. Might not be much cause for it tomorrow  even if I do get accreditation. There were only about 30 rkts total today. Tomorrow should be a bit busier but not crazy. Apparently it gets busy from the Sunday, with qualifying starting on Wednesday. Last year on the day before qualifying the team did 295 rkts.

Watching some TV and facebooking before bed. Fri night here but no stringers are out. Big days are not easy to do hungover.

 

Shane Mikic is the proshop manager for the Tennis Gear stores and their online store www.tennisgear.com.au in Brisbane.  He has over 16 years racquet stringing experience and is currently part of the Wilson Global Stringing Team at the 2011 Australian Open.  The following blog shares his experiences during his time in the Wilson Stringing room.

Shane Mikic Interview

Shane Mikic is the proshop manager for the Tennis Gear stores and their online store www.tennisgear.com.au in Brisbane.  He has over 16 years racquet stringing experience and is currently part of the Wilson Global Stringing Team at the 2011 Australian Open.

 

Click here to see an interview with Shane at the Australian Open Stringing Room.

Ljubicic speaks about his IG Extreme Racquet

The new Head YouTek IG Extreme racquets are now available at Tennis Gear. This racquet will be used by Ivan Ljubicic at the 2011 Australian Open.  Checkout the following video of Ljubicic explaining the benefits of his new IG Extreme racquet.

Federer loves his Wilson BLX Racquet

Tennis Gear have the full range of Wilson BLX racquets in store and online right now. If you would like to demo a racquet plase visit our store at Everton Tennis & Gear or Shaw Park Tennis & Gear and you can a demo a Wilson BLX racquet at no charge.

 

HEAD Youtek IG Extreme Racquets available

The new range of Head IG Extreme racquets are available at Tennis Gear.

This racquet provides all of the extra touch, power and spin you want for an aggressive game. HEAD’s YouTek™ concept aims to provide tennis players with the perfect racquet for their individual game. The new YouTek™ IG Extreme is specially designed for the needs of players like Ivan Ljubicic. It offers touch, power and spin for baseline hitters with a long swing style. In addition, Innegra™ promises to bring racquet head innovation to another level. Extremely tough and light, Innegra™ boasts the lowest density of any existing fibre and, combined with carbon fibre, forms an ultra-tough hybrid-composite structure. The result: improved stability and increased shock absorption. Racquet vibration from ball impact is reduced by up to 17 percent, yielding unique control and precision.

The four models of the YouTek IG Extreme line have their technology integrated into the layup of the racquets. It is highlighted by a new shaft which, due to its comfortable ergonomic shape, is also optimized for the double-handed backhand player. The racquet provides a more solid feel and sound on court and better touch on the ball. The secret: a special cross section which provides more torsional stiffness in the shaft.
The distinctive black-and-yellow Extreme also sets trends in racquet design, with modern and aggressive design elements.

HEAD racquet rebel Ivan Ljubicic is convinced by the benefits of the Extreme racquet: “It is a very powerful racquet, if not the most powerful on the Tour. It helps me a lot with my serve, but also to give the ball rotation with topspin and slice.”

The new Extreme range including Pro, MP and Elite models includes the right option for every playing style, backed up by the technological pedigree which has become a HEAD trademark on the ATP and WTA circuits – and anywhere tennis is played.

Djokovic speaks about his IG Speed Racquet

The new HEAD YOUTEK IG Speed racquets are available at Tennis Gear now. The following is a great video of Djokovic explaining the benefits of the new Innegra Graphite (IG) in his IG Speed Pro.

http://www.youtube.com/headtennis#p/u/9/kbvXURa_M1w

HEAD Youtek IG Speed

The new range of HEAD IG Speed racquets are now available at Tennis Gear.  This racquet will be used by Novac Djokovic at the 2011 Australian Open.

The Speed Pro offers a slightly heavier frame (335g) with a thinner beam (18mm), providing excellent touch for exceptional feel. It comes with a synthetic leather grip and cap for ultimate tour performance.

The second generation of YouTek™ Speed racquets, which again has been developed with and for world No. 3 player Novak Djokovic. The new YouTek™ Speed IG series combines the best features of the well-accepted YouTek™ umbrella concept and adds innovation by marrying the high performance materials d3o™ with HEAD's new Innegra™ fibre technology.

HEAD’s YouTek™ concept aims to provide tennis players with the perfect racquets for their individual game. The new YouTek™ IG Speed is specially designed for the needs of players like Novak Djokovic. Innegra™ promises to bring racquet innovation to another level. Extremely tough and light, Innegra™ boasts the lowest density of any existing fibre and, combined with carbon fibre, forms an ultra-tough hybrid-composite structure. The result: improved stability and increased shock absorption. Racquet vibration from ball impact is reduced by up to 17 percent, yielding unique control and precision.

Similar to Formula 1 racing where Innegra™ fibre technology is used to extend the performance and durability on a very high level, HEAD’s new frame structure considerably extends the performance of all HEAD YouTek™ IG Speed racquets.

HEAD racquet rebel Novak Djokovic is excited to serve at the upcoming Australian Open with his new weapon of choice: “The name is Speed, and the racquet gives me a lot of speed in this aggressive game. We have been working hard on the racquet in order to improve it as much as possible.”