With the Dunlop Max Predator I won the first set against Jay C 6-1. First time I ever won a set against him. I think he won 16 sets in a row at least and now suddenly I almost bagel him. And then I completely fell apart and he won the second 7-5 and the tiebreak 10-7. But that was entirely mental. I got tentative. Completely quit doing anything with my backhand and forehand. Except for being a total headcase I could have won 6-1, 6-0. Oh well.

On serve trying a bit more of a Sampras motion to get more topspin on the first serve and I find I naturally want to come into the net. It was a little shaky this first time but I still almost won the second set by playing serve and volley a lot since I completely forgot how to hit groundstrokes.

I think I would have fallen apart maybe a bit less if I had continued to hit topspin. I got extremely tentative instead of taking a rip at the ball. Of course this new racquet has so much power I can't remotely take a rip at it unless there's plenty of topspin. But no. On the other hand I quit being smooth also. Got jerky/shaky. Whatever I was doing that got me up 6-1, 3-1 I needed to just keep doing. I really shouldn't jump to a new grip on the forehand and backhand yet again here. I keep on coming right back to the A Murray backhand grip it seems anyway. Just need to keep being smooth in order to be precise. I quit doing that. Ought to write it on my racquet.

So far since using it I've won 6-1, 6-3. 6-1, 6-1. And now lost 6-1, 5-7 (7-10). I may need to increase the string tension a bit. My elbow feels great at 48, but the ball definitely trampolines at times with this huge racquet face. Also may experiment with adding a bit of weight. Serve is a bit slower with having it at 12.5 instead of my usual 14+, though second serve is better.