Fischer M-Speed Pro No.1
By James Waterson
During its long and illustrious history Fischer has made a name for itself by pushing the proverbial technological envelope in order to create the highest quality equipment for an affordable price. This year Fischer unveiled its newest innovation, known as Magnetic Speed (or M-Speed) technology, at the 2006 Australian Open with remarkable results. Several players, most notably Marcos Baghdatis and Francesca Schiavone, went deep into the tournament and continue to represent themselves well throughout the current season.
Although these players are remarkable athletes it is critical for even the best to have a helping hand from their equipment and Fischer delivers. The M-Speed technology utilizes polarized magnets placed at the 3 and 9 o’clock positions of the head of the racquet that allows the racquet to deform on impact with the ball, ultimately granting the player access to even more power, spin, and control than they had before. Fortunately for the standard club player both the Midplus and Oversize racquets accommodates those who are looking for more control, spin, and maneuverability without sacrificing stability or weight.
The most impressive attribute of M-Speed Pro No.1 is the overall flexibility of the frames. Unlike most “players” frames that may feel a little stiff and uncomfortable, both the Midplus and Oversize versions feel incredibly soft and user friendly. The access to spin, power, and control is quite high with these racquets and the overall stability is pretty impressive as well. The Midplus, due to its slightly smaller head size, will provide more control while the Oversize will provide more spin and power.
One word can describe how these racquets play at the net: Solid. The headlight balance plus the head size and weight combine to yield impressive stability, feel, and control on even the most difficult of volleys. The M-Speeds are also very responsive on the overhead and with the proper wrist snap and footwork the individual doesn’t have to exert much effort to hit an effective smash.
The serve is where the M-Speed’s performance falters slightly. On “kick” (or topspin) and slice serves the racquets are excellent and yield all the control and spin anyone could ever ask for. On flat serves, however, pace and placement can prove difficult to generate due to the overall balance and construction of the frames which lends itself to producing more of a spin shot than a flatter stroke, even on the serve. Those players who utilize the topspin serve for the 1st and 2nd serves will probably not even notice this slight issue but it is something to consider.
Another shot in which these racquets absolutely shine, the serve return, can be attributed to the overall stability and maneuverability of the racquets. It is not difficult to get the frame in the proper position to return a good quality serve and it is very unusual to have the racquet twist on an off center hit during the return.
Fischer has achieved something very special with their M-Speed Pro No.1 series of racquets. While these frames are excellent at providing a very generous amount of control, stability, maneuverability, and spin on every shot it does fail slightly in providing enough of the type of power necessary to hit a flatter serve or groundstroke. In this case the racquets greatest strength is also its greatest weakness although we believe that the pros highly outweigh the cons.
We highly recommend these racquets to NTRP 4.5 and higher players who have a tendency to play with a lot more topspin and rely less on flatter shots. These frames are great for the new age heavy topspin all court player and for those of you who are looking for that new frame that will give your game a new edge should highly consider the Fischer M-Speed Pro No.1.
Ranking System
1 – Low
5 – Moderate
10 – High
Power – 5
Spin – 8.5
Stability – 8
Control – 9 Maneuverability – 9.5 |
