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Head Liquid Metal Prestige Review

In my search for a racquet to alleviate the pain caused by my tennis elbow injury, I went on a quest to get a more suitable tennis racquet that will play close to the Babolat Pure Drive Standard (read my personal review on the Babolat Pure Drive) but not cause as much pain. I was looking for something primarily less stiffer as I had already tried the Head Flexpoint 4, (read my personal review on the Head Flexpoint 4) but that did not help, but instead aggravated the injury to my elbow.

I was reading an article on tennis related injuries and types of tennis racquets that potentially cause injuries and found out that weight and it’s distribution over the racquet area played a huge factor. It seems that light racquets were the main cause of tennis related injuries. This article advocates the use of heavier racquets and claims the more head light a racquet is, the better, as you will be able to generate "real" momentum behind the racquet. A light whippy racquet however, will force a player to swing twice as hard to generate the same pace as it’s heavier counterpart. This increases the risk of injuries to the wrist, elbow and shoulder.

Prior to this current tennis elbow injury, I had a severe tennis elbow problem before. It took me about a year and a half to recover, but ironically it was not due to rest or medication, but just by simply switching racquets from a Donnay Pro One Limited Edition Mid to a Head i-prestige. The pain experienced in my elbow had been around for the last one and a half years, amazingly went away in about two shorts weeks after switching to the Head i-prestige! The pain previously was however on the inner part of my elbow, (golfer's elbow) the pain that I'm experiencing now, is on the outer part of the elbow (tennis elbow). After reading the article as well as remembering that my previous problem had been cured with a heavier racquet, I decided to try my luck using a more hefty head light racquet. I went for the Head Liquid Metal Prestige, as the Head Flexpoint Prestige had not been launched yet. It was said be also less stiffer, so I purchased it and prayed that it will solve my problem.

Initially, it did somewhat to a certain extent, but since my tennis elbow was already so bad, I still felt pain after the first set or so. It was definitely less stiffer than the Babolat Pure Drive standard. I found that this racquet had phenomenal control and stability and was very easy to put the ball back in play. I however personally found that it lacked power, even after lowering my tension from 57 pounds to 54 pounds, it did not make much of a difference. It was nowhere compared to the Babolat Pure Drive Standard or even the Head Flexpoint 4 in the power department, as no matter how hard I tried to generate pace, this racquet wasn’t really suiting my swing style. I have very short wristy compact swings, to make full use and to generate sufficient pace with the Head Liquid Metal Prestige, you will need long loopy swings so that you get more power. I felt spin had been very much muted with this racquet, probably due to it’s compact close stringing pattern.

What I did however get with the Head Liquid Metal Prestige, was that I became a better defensive player overnight. Due to it’s weight, it was very stable and did not wobble when you hit a defensive block shot. It provided both control and stability to absorb powerful shots and I could effortlessly deflect shots back. I however felt that this asset will benefit doubles play more, as you can absorb an opponents powerful serve or ground strokes and play an angled chip cross court. If you are however playing singles and don’t have long loopy strokes to keep your opponent behind the baseline, this racquet will NOT do you any favors! Returning short in a singles game will get you punished by your opponent, as I have found out with this racquet. Since top spin was also not easy to generate, I found it hard to keep my opponent rooted to the baseline. I generally felt that I was constantly being on the receiving end most of the time with this racquet.

The only thing I would have to say that worked very well with the Head Liquid Metal Prestige for me was the slice return. With this stick, I was able to slice and dice my way out of tricky situations. It had saved me on countless occasions, and in my personal opinion, this was the best racquet I had ever used for both the forehand and backhand slice. I was able to keep my slice very low and deep as well as chip and charge to set up the volley when required. I found that with the Head Liquid Metal Prestige, my slice returns could be turned from defense to counter attack. Many a times, I was able to run back and out of the court to hit a defensive slice or lob and still make the shot. Due to the stability and control of the stick, I still had time to recover without ballooning my shots and that was remarkable thing. Defensive play does not however win you games, it merely assists you pick up important points. It is the aggressive attacking play that gets the job done in the long run, for me the Head Liquid Metal Prestige did not give me this added advantage I needed and craved. In fact, my game turned from an attacking based to a defensive one.

Conclusion:

Although the Head Liquid Metal Prestige rarely had the power in terms of ground strokes, I could still hit pretty decent backhands. My forehand however was a different story altogether. Spin was hard to generated and had simply no juice. I found that I was able to only find the baseline using my forehand with very flat shots that decreases the accuracy of getting the ball in. With spin, all my shots were ending in the kill range of my opponent just after the service box. I’ve never experienced this situation with any of my previous racquets before, as I have no problem keeping my forehands relatively deep. With the Head Liquid Metal Prestige, I had trouble consistently trying to hit deep into the opponent’s baseline. I have no doubts, that this racquet will be better suited for somebody who has long flowing strokes, but if you have short swings like mine, it does not really help. The pain suffered in my elbow although was less, did not fully cure or enable me to continue playing well. I thus decided to sell this racquet off after less than two months for the Head Flexpoint Instinct.

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

Hi. I came by your blog by searching google.

So, how did it go with flexpoint instinct? I was set up to buy one last week but read somewhere that some people find the LM instinct better than FXP instinct. But you seem cool with FXP technology as you keep buying them... Anyways, is there considerable difference in LM and FXP version? In US web sites, it's almost 40% cheaper...

BTW, the picture is my baby. :)

Hi,

I'm JoHn or JC in TFN n a die-hard Head user. I'm using MG Extreme Pro, FXP Radical Tour and now FXP Instinct. I found the latest to be very Tennis-Elbow friendly and would like your experience with your FXP Instinct. Tks.

hi, i'm satria from indonesia. i'd suggest you try Head Protector OS. also go to the doctor to treat the injury. hope you get well soon.

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  • I'm Nawin from regentville
  • Residing in Hougang Singapore
  • Racquets: X2 Prince EXO3 Graphite 100 (Main) X3 Wilson K Blade Tour 93 (Backup) Strings: Toalson Ultimate 115 Strung @ 48-50 pounds. Plays: Right Handed (Single Backhand). Shoes: mi Adidas Barricade V Apparel: Lacoste & Adidas Favourite Players: Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic

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