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.”