Sunday, February 20, 2005
The Tennis Feedback Column
I guess my Christmas Wish List column got pretty far around the world, but apparently not to Santa himself (laughs). I want to personally thank the reader who sent me a Marat Safin Christmas card ... very interesting. For those of you who never saw it, it had Marat smashing his tennis racquet (how appropriate) over my head! Nice touch, but no, you still won't get me to say here or anywhere in public that Marat is king! (Nice win at the Aussie, but he still has a way to go.)
I also want to thank all the readers who read the column and have contacted the companies or people I mentioned. I have received a ton of feedback from these companies, and every response has said that you, our SC readers, were polite, friendly, professional, and a pleasure to speak with. Way to go, guys and gals!
After the column, I was contacted by two of the companies, INTENN.com and Vantage. I want to thank all of you for your kind words to Mr. Gore of INTENN, the DVD tennis magazine, and let you know that his next issue is due soon. I recommend you visit his website, INTENN.com to find out more, and even leave him a comment. Or you can e-mail me here, and I'll pass it along.
Vantage Sports International actually launched their company and website on February 7th, about a month later than I wrote it would. I spoke to Mr. Paul Angell, the founder of Vantage Sports International and VantageTennis.com right after the launch, and he was also very appreciative of your support. He asked if there was anything he could do to thank us here at Sports Central, and I declined.
I did ask him, though, if he could reward you, the readers, for your support and for reading this column. He agreed, and so thanks to you and Vantage, any Sports Central reader who purchases from him will receive a 15% discount on Vantage tennis products.
When you place your order there, will be a referral code box that is on the order page. So, exclusive to Sports Central readers, put in the code "TK01" and your purchase will automatically receive a 15% discount. Don't forget the code, "TK01," because if you do, you won't receive your discount. Thank you, Mr. Angell, for your kindness to our readers.
To remind you all, Vantage Sports International is a new "mass market custom" racquet builder. That means that they offer you a range of choices, from head size, grip size, grip shape, shaft flexibility, length, weight, balance, grip type, and in this case, color (black or white). You go to VantageTennis.com, go through the easy-to-use racquet builder, and viola, you have a racquet that is built to what you want. If you aren't sure, there are also three pre-built models to review or choose from. After you place your order, they are hand-built and shipped directly to you. They typically arrive the next day, no more then 24 hours from the day of your order.
I also received an e-mail from Mr. Frank Kunz, founder and Director of Research and Development at X-45 Corp. He let me know that X-45 Corp. is coming into 2005 with an expanded range of frames, adding to the already popular 22 mm lineup with a new 28 mm lineup (I think he said it will be called the Monster series) and a 24 mm range, as well.
As of press time, the initial production of the 28 mm and 24 mm had not yet hit the states, so I haven't seen any yet. The new frames will all range from about 10 oz to 13 oz, and will round out the line so that X-45 now has a frame to suit any player and playing style. Check out www.X-45.com. You can also order from them direct on the web, another plus. They have a very generous demo program, so its worth a look at one of these very unique and well playing frames.
I also want to thank the reader who sent me a poster sized picture of Anastasia Myskina, with the following written on it, "Dear Tom, In your dreams, buddy! Love, Anastasia." I took it to my local sports memorabilia shop in hopes that it was authentic, but alas it appears that it isn't. So to whomever sent it, thanks anyway. It's still a pretty hot picture, and now I can see it every time I sit down to write this column.
Before I go, I want to thank you all for your continued readership. I would love to know how far away and how much this column gets, so if you don't mind, how about e-mailing me or leaving a comment here on the website to tell me where you are from and what you like about my columns, and Sports Central, too.
So, thanks a lot. My next column will get right back to tennis. I will have a feature on the Tennis Angels (yep, you don't want to miss this) and also some good commentary on the pro game before the WTA and ATP tours make their next stop together at the NASDAQ 100 in Miami.
Later, gators...