Racquet Playtest Comparison:
| About the play tester |
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Tester: BreakPoint from the Talk Tennis Message Board
Playing Level: 4.5
Your regular racquet, string & tension: Wilson nSix-One Tour 90 (Asian version), hybrid of Gosen AK Speed 16g mains @ 58 lbs. and Gosen OG Sheep Micro 16g crosses @ 56lbs., cable grommet "O" dampener, and Gosen Ripple overgrip over Wilson leather grip.
Type of game: All court player playing both singles and doubles, serve and volley one-quarter of the time. Long, loopy, fast swings on both sides. Can hit flat, topspin, and slice off of both sides, and will mix things up during rallies. One-handed eastern backhand and eastern forehand. Strengths are serve and backhand.
Initial Impressions:
Dunlop Aerogel 2Hundred: Very solid looking and feeling racquet with a very high quality fit and finish. Beautiful metallic royal blue paintjob around the throat area. Dunlop did a really nice job with the look of this racquet. The substantial swingweight of this racquet makes it feel like a serious, no-nonsense solid player's racquet. However, it still feels lighter and easier to swing than its predecessor, the M-Fil 200, and I'd say TW's swingweight rating of 331 is about right, if not a hair on the high side. With the large square Dunlop dampener and two overgrips (grip was one size smaller than my usual), the static weight was 12.5 oz.
Boris Becker 11: This racquet feels and swings fairly light when you first pick it up and start swinging it. Although TW rates its swingweight at 337, based just on feel when I swing it, I would have guessed its swingweight to be closer to 327. The thin beam seems to enhance its aerodynamics and add to this feeling of maneuverability. However, the racquet felt a bit more substantial than its 12.0 oz. spec would imply. This racquet really reminded me of the Volkl DNX 10 Mid and you can easily tell that they both come from the same lineage and were probably both designed by the same engineers. Both racquets feel substantial when you hold them but then seem to accelerate through the contact zone as you swing them fast. With dampener and overgrip, the static weight came out to 12.2 oz. on my digital scale. The orange paintjob, although nice, did not seem to be as high quality of a finish as the Dunlop Aerogel 2Hundred.
Head MicroGEL Radical MP: As expected, this racquet feels very light and swings very light as well. It has one of these new "modern" multi-colored paintjobs (the same graphic artist must have worked on the Wilson K-Factor racquets) that makes it look very busy, although eye-catching. The fit and finish was a little better than the last two generations of this racquet, the Flexpoint Radical and the LiquidMetal Radical. However, the lightness of this racquet made it feel more hollow in my hand than the other two racquets. With dampener and overgrip, the weight came in at a very light 11.3 oz.
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Power
Dunlop Aerogel 2Hundred: A very low powered player's racquet that has a very solid feel. This is probably the lowest powered of the three here. You really do need to take a very full swing to get any juice out of it on groundstrokes. I think the dense 18x20 really takes a lot of the inherent power in the frame out of the stringbed. However, I could serve huge bombs with this racquet due to its weight and unforgiving stringbed. I've found all the Dunlop 200 series of racquets to be great on serves and this one is no exception. Great control and pace on both first and second serves. The low power allowed me to take huge swings at the ball on groundstrokes and still maintain an incredible degree of control and keep the ball in. Both the directional and depth control were excellent. However, blocked returns of serve tended to land somewhat short so I found I was better off taking big swings at my returns.
Boris Becker 11: This was probably the most powerful of the three. This kind of surprised me as with the dense 18x20 pattern string pattern and high flexibility, I would have expected it to be fairly low-powered. I think the power comes from the stiffness of the DNX material that's located along most of the two sides of the hoop in long strips. It appears there's more of the DNX material used in this racquet than was used on the Volkl DNX 10 Mid. And as with the DNX 10 Mid, when I swung this racquet, it gave me the sensation of the momentum of the head pulling my stroke through which helped to accelerate my swing, sort of like swinging a hammer. This increase in racquet head speed seemed to also help in generating extra power. There was plenty of power for both serves and for groundstrokes which allowed me to serve with a lot of pace and keep the ball deep during baseline rallies.
Head MicroGEL Radical MP: This racquet seemed to have a good bit of inherent power due to its stiffness but the light weight seemed to counteract that power. It was easy to hit the ball deep even with shorter, more compact strokes and hitting with this racquet seemed almost effortless. It was almost like you could put the racquet on auto-pilot and keep the ball in play without working very hard at all, especially as compared to my regular racquet with which I need to involve my entire body just to get the ball over the net. When I took a bigger swing I could generate some impressive pace and serving with good pace was also pretty easy to do. Most impressive was blocking returns of serve in which I was able to hit some low, biting slices to the feet of the charging net-rusher. However, due to the light weight, putaway power was hard to find on volleys, so I would say this racquet is much better from the baseline than at the net.
Control
Dunlop Aerogel 2Hundred: This racquet has excellent, almost pinpoint, control. It doesn't really have a big sweetspot but the dense string pattern and the flex of the frame provided a great deal of control and allowed me to pretty much hit my spots where I aimed even when I took huge cuts at the ball. This excellent control extended to all shots including groundstrokes, serves, and volleys. Placement on all shots, especially on serves, was very accurate. I could easily hit both big flat first serves or spin/kick second serves right into the corner of my choosing pretty consistently. Hitting volleys exactly where I wanted to was also pretty easy to do. The heft of this racquet also made it hard for it to get pushed around even by hard-hitting opponents.
Boris Becker 11: This racquet also had very good control although it felt a bit "whippier" than the other two racquets. The weight of the racquet provided good "plow-through" and allowed me to hit the ball hard with good control. This racquet feels like it has a very large sweetspot so that even off-center hits resulted in very good shots with good pace and control. Despite the dense string pattern, I was able to generate a bit more spin for control with this racquet than with the Dunlop. Serving with good placement was also quite easy with this racquet as were returns of serve. Volleys were also fairly accurate and easy to put away. About the only downside was on low balls to my one-handed backhand which I sometimes had trouble getting over the net with topspin despite this probably being my best shot with my normal racquet. I think the high flex in this racquet's throat has something to do with it.
Head MicroGEL Radical MP: This racquet had surprisingly good control for something so light. Although this racquet felt and swung like a light racquet, it sure didn't play like one. Quite a paradox in my mind. On groundstrokes I had very good control and I could hit the ball pretty much exactly where I aimed. I think the dense string pattern contributed to this level of control. Even on serves, I always felt I was in control. However, it was a very different story on volleys. I think this racquet just doesn't have enough mass to maintain control on hard hit volleys as I felt I was getting pushed around quite a bit at the net. I thought it was interesting that I didn't feel this way at all from the baseline. Because of this, I would say this racquet is more suitable for baseliners than for serve and volleyers, and since the Radical models have always been associated with Andre Agassi, I would venture to assume that this was intended by design.
Maneuverability
Dunlop Aerogel 2Hundred: This racquet is not balanced as head light as my usual racquet but has a more even balance, so it did not feel quite as maneuverable as what I'm used to. Even so, I would still rate this racquet to be pretty maneuverable as I had no trouble getting the racquet into position on any of my shots. However, out of the three racquets, this one feels like it has the highest swingweight, just a tad higher than that of the Boris Becker 11. Even with the increased swingweight over my usual racquet, I had no trouble volleying with the racquet up at net or getting the racquet back in time to hit groundstrokes. Maneuverability was also not an issue on serves, in fact, the added swingweight was welcomed as it added quite a bit of juice to my serves.
Boris Becker 11: I thought this racquet swung easier than its rated swingweight of 337 would indicate. Perhaps due to the thin beam, the balance, the relatively lower static weight, and/or the aerodynamics or a combination thereof, but this racquet felt fairly maneuverable in my hands. I had no problems whatsoever in getting this racquet in position to hit any of my shots, whether I was on the baseline or up at the net. Any decrease in maneuverability as compared to my usual racquet was probably due to the larger headsize of the Becker 11. However, the swingweight of this racquet had a strange way of sneaking up on me, in that, although it felt fairly light, over the course of a longer hitting session I could feel my swing slowing down a bit and I start to notice the weight of the racquet much more. This doesn't typically happen with my usual racquet nor with the other two racquets in this playtest.
Head MicroGEL Radical MP: This was easily the most maneuverable racquet of the three mainly due to its substantially lower static and swingweight as compared to the other two. This was a very easy racquet to play with in all respects. Getting the racquet in position for both groundstrokes and for volleys were both quite easy. The light weight also allowed me to hit those last second wrist flick shots when I was scrambling. The low swingweight made it easy to generate very fast racquet head speed, especially on my serves. This is the kind of racquet that makes it easy even for someone that doesn't have the best timing to use as it's pretty easy to make those last second adjustments and still hit a decent shot.
Stability
Dunlop Aerogel 2Hundred: I felt this was the most stable feeling out of the three. Although the sweetspot is not very big, the racquet still felt pretty solid on just about all of my shots. This allowed me to take huge swings and hit the ball very hard with impunity. This high level of stability was felt on almost all shots, including probably most importantly, on volleys. The stability translated to excellent control on all shots, which resulted in a high level of accuracy in ball placement. The only time this racquet didn't feel rock solid was sometimes on backhand slices in which I could detect a slight wobble on occasion.
Boris Becker 11: This was also a pretty stable feeling racquet overall. I think the addition of a generous amount of the DNX material along the right and left sides of the hoop considerably increases the stability of this essentially pretty flexible racquet. Even so, I could still feel the flex in the throat on hard hit shots which would make the frame wobble just a tiny bit. But this did not seem to affect control very much as I was still able to hit the ball pretty much to exactly where I was aiming. This racquet also felt pretty stable on both serves and on volleys.
Head MicroGEL Radical MP: Although this was probably the least stable of the three, it was still surprisingly stable given its light static and swingweight. I think it's a very well designed racquet which makes it so stable while maintaining its light weight. Perhaps the dense 18x20 string pattern also helps to give it a more solid feel? Stability on groundstrokes and serves were very good, but especially good on slice returns of serve. About the only time this racquet felt unstable was at the net. The light weight just could not handle hard hit passing shots so stability was noticeably lacking on volleys.
Comfort
Dunlop Aerogel 2Hundred: I would rate this a pretty comfortable racquet even with the dense stringbed because it's a fairly flexible racquet and that flex adds to the comfort. Both shock and vibration were well controlled which resulted in a very solid feel. However, at the net, the racquet can feel somewhat "boardy" on volleys which I didn't like too much. In addition, it does have a fairly substantial swingweight so those used to lighter swinging racquets may have some trouble getting it around at first, although I doubt most advanced players would have any trouble at all. Also, if you're not used to a heavier racquet, it may cause some shoulder discomfort after a lot of serving.
Boris Becker 11: This racquet has a very unique feel to it in that it can feel stiff and flexible all at the same time, similar to that of the Volkl DNX 10 Mid I playtested last year. I think this is caused by having the very stiff DNX material at the sides of the hoop and also at the collar at the top of the handle which stiffens those areas while leaving the rest of the frame very flexible. The net effect is that, although you can feel the stiffness in the head, the rest of the frame flexes and compensates for it so the overall feel is not very harsh at all. I found this racquet to be more comfortable than the similar DNX 10 Mid despite its denser stringbed, probably due to the larger overall size of the stringbed. It also did not have the high pitched "ping" sound at ball impact that the DNX 10 Mid had. For these reasons, I would say this is the most comfortable out of the three racquets. Noteworthy is that although the grip shape was a bit less rectangular and flat feeling than on previous Volkls, it still felt noticeably like a Volkl grip shape to me so if you're used to rounder or more octagonal shaped grips (e.g., Prince, Wilson, etc.), you may find the grip shape takes a little getting used to.
Head MicroGEL Radical MP: This was a surprisingly comfortable racquet for something so light, I guess because its stiffness is rated at only RA 57. It's amazing that this racquet has any power and stability at all given its light weight and high flex. Usually racquets with these kind of specs feel like "wire coat hangers" to me when I hit the ball, but not this one. It's both solid feeling and comfortable and still has some pop to the stringbed. Just a very well engineered racquet I guess. The lighter weight means there was no shoulder soreness from serving with this racquet and surprisingly no discomfort to my elbow from hitting groundstrokes either. The only time there was any feeling of discomfort was hitting volleys as hard hit shots can be jarring due to the light weight. By the way, the grip shape felt noticeably less rectangular to me than previous generations of Head racquets.
Spin
Dunlop Aerogel 2Hundred: Due to the dense 18x20 string pattern, this is not the easiest racquet to generate spin with. I think it is much better for people who hit the ball hard and flat. If you like to hit every ball with massive topspin, this may not be the best choice for you. However, slice and kick serves were relatively easy to produce. Given the weight and flex of this racquet, I was actually surprised that it was not better for hitting backhand slices with, which was just adequate.
Boris Becker 11: Although this racquet also has a dense 18x20 string pattern, it seemed a bit easier to generate spin with this one than with the Dunlop. It might have something to do with the flex of the throat. Nevertheless, I still felt this racquet was a bit better at hitting flat than at hitting extreme spins. Slicing was pretty good with this racquet. I also had no problems hitting with spin on my serves with this racquet.
Head MicroGEL Radical MP: I was pleasantly surprised that I could actually hit pretty decent topspin groundstrokes with this racquet given the same dense 18x20 string pattern as the other two racquets in this playtest. It must be due to the light weight which allowed me to generate very fast racquet head speeds. Even slices were better than I expected, especially this being such a light racquet, and I could get some amazing angles with my sliced backhand returns of serve. Slice and kick serves also didn't seem to be any problem, either.
Overall:
Dunlop Aerogel 2Hundred: This is an excellent racquet and one which I would call "neutral", meaning you get out of it exactly what you put into it Ð nothing more and nothing less. It doesn't really add anything to your shots that you don't have already. It is very solid and has a substantial feel to it. It is great for players that like to hit the ball hard and flat as it allow you to take huge cuts at the ball but still maintain an incredible level of control. I think players that liked the last several generations of the Dunlop 200-series racquets should like this one as well. Bottom line: A solid player's racquet with low power and excellent control best suited for 4.5 to 7.0 players who like to take huge flat swings at the ball.
Boris Becker 11: A relatively flexy feeling racquet by today's standards which provides good feel and good control. Perfect for an all-court game as it's good both from the baseline as well as at the net. Does not have a lot of inherent power but uses its weight to plow through the ball. The stiff sides of the hoop combined with the flexy throat results in a very unique feel in a player's racquet. Bottom line: A good racquet for 4.0 to 6.5 players that are looking for a midplus racquet with good feel, excellent comfort, and lots of control.
Head MicroGEL Radical MP: This is a very versatile racquet that is also very easy to use for a variety of different level players. From lower level players to more advanced players, I think there is something for just about anyone here in this racquet. It seems to work with both short, compact strokes as well as with fuller, longer strokes. It's only real downside is on volleys. Bottom line: Can be used by 3.0 to 6.0 level players with a variety of playing styles but best suited for baseliners.
A Last Word: Frankly, all three of these are very good racquets and I could probably use any of the three as my main racquet. Yes, they are all that good! It will be hard for me to rank them from best to worst as each is an excellent racquet within their own categories and are best suited for different types of players. It also depends a lot on what one is looking for in a new racquet. Although all three have many things in common: midplus heads (95-98), relatively flexible (57-61), dense string patterns (18x20), relatively thin beams (20-21mm), and varying degrees of headlight balances (8 pts, 5 pts, 2 pts), they play quite differently from each other and I would say each one is one of the better racquets in their respective categories and anyone looking for a racquet within these categories should definitely demo one of these racquets. Other than that, each is unique in its own way with each having its own particular feel. I suspect all three will be very popular racquets.
| Power |
| Boris Becker | 72 |
| Head MicroGEL Radical MP | 71 |
| Dunlop Aerogel 2Hundred | 69 |
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| Control |
| Dunlop Aerogel 2Hundred | 84 |
| Boris Becker | 82 |
| Head MicroGEL Radical MP | 81 |
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| Maneuverability |
| Head MicroGEL Radical MP | 83 |
| Dunlop Aerogel 2Hundred | 78 |
| Boris Becker | 77 |
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| Stability |
| Dunlop Aerogel 2Hundred | 81 |
| Boris Becker | 79 |
| Head MicroGEL Radical MP | 77 |
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| Comfort |
| Boris Becker | 82 |
| Dunlop Aerogel 2Hundred | 80 |
| Head MicroGEL Radical MP | 78 |
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| Touch/Feel |
| Boris Becker | 80 |
| Dunlop Aerogel 2Hundred | 79 |
| Head MicroGEL Radical MP | 77 |
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| Groundstrokes |
| Dunlop Aerogel 2Hundred | 81 |
| Boris Becker | 80 |
| Head MicroGEL Radical MP | 79 |
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| Volleys |
| Boris Becker | 80 |
| Dunlop Aerogel 2Hundred | 79 |
| Head MicroGEL Radical MP | 68 |
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| Serves and Overheads |
| Dunlop Aerogel 2Hundred | 83 |
| Boris Becker | 81 |
| Head MicroGEL Radical MP | 79 |
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| Serve Returns |
| Dunlop Aerogel 2Hundred | 79 |
| Boris Becker | 78 |
| Head MicroGEL Radical MP | 77 |
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| Slice |
| Boris Becker | 79 |
| Head MicroGEL Radical MP | 78 |
| Dunlop Aerogel 2Hundred | 77 |
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| Topspin |
| Head MicroGEL Radical MP | 79 |
| Boris Becker | 78 |
| Dunlop Aerogel 2Hundred | 77 |
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| Overall |
| Dunlop Aerogel 2Hundred | 81 |
| Boris Becker | 80 |
| Head MicroGEL Radical MP | 79 |
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| Playtest date: August, 2007. |
| All content copyright 2007 Tennis Warehouse. |