The Dunlop Srixon CX 200 Tour 18×20 racket is the next iteration of the very well regarded CX 2.0 Tour 18×10. These are the rackets endorsed by ATP player Kevin Anderson. I skipped the CX 2.0 series (vainly) because of its cosmetic. Its colour scheme was a visual assault on the eyes. By contrast the CX 200 cosmetic is a much more subtle and classic looking, being a mostly black frame with some nice red accents.
I’ve only had a couple of very quick hitting sessions with this racket so far. Despite this I feel like I have enough feedback and insight into this frame to make some initial observations.
First a bit on the specs of the racket. The advertised spec of the racket is 315 grams, 310 mm balance. My racket came in at 317 grams, 306 mm (12HL) balance and swing weight of 278. Once strung with Völkl Cyclone 17 gauge string the final spec with overgrip and dampener came out at 342 grams, 315 mm (9HL) balance and swing weight of 313.
Having suffered tennis elbow previously, one of the first characteristics I notice in a racket is the general comfort and flex. In this regard the Dunlop Srixon CX 200 Tour 18×20 seems promising. The racket includes some technologies, Sonic Core with Infinergy (developed by BASF). This is a polyurethene material installed around key areas of the racket to improve ball rebound and comfort. The averaged flex of the racket is listed at a low 63 RA. At this early stage I have not played with this racket nearly enough to confirm it to be a comfortable racket, but the specs, tech and first impressions are certainly positive.
On serve the CX 200 is surprisingly impressive. For the low swing weight I was honestly expecting to be significantly down on pace. Not so! Pace was actually very good, quite significantly better than my Angel TC95 rackets, but perhaps a bit down on my Head Graphene Touch Radical Pro. Precision was really good, I was readily able to hit the T serve (a litmus test for me).
Ground strokes is where the racket gave me the biggest surprise. Being an 18×20 pattern I was expecting to have the trajectory pretty tight to the net, especially when the space gets turned up. To compensate a little for this expectation I strung the racket at a tension of 45 lb in the mains and 42 lb in the crosses. That slight tension differential in the crosses should raise the trajectory a bit.
On the forehand side ball flight looked almost like a regular 16×19 racket, very good (safe) net clearance. Spin production was better than I was expecting for the tighter string pattern. For my style of play this Dunlop Srixon CX 200 Tour 18×20 seems much more playable than something like a Head Graphene Touch Prestige MP, on paper a pretty similar racket in many regards. I’m yet to try the CX 200 in a serious match so I still reserve some judgement here.
Around the net is where I’ve spent very little time with the racket thus far. However, based on the feel of the racket on contact, and the directional control delivered by the frame, I have no doubt in my mind that this will be a scalpel.
I’ve got the last competitive match of the year coming up this Thursday, and I’m seriously thinking I might actually take this racket into the matches. I imagine I’ll definitely be spending some more time with this racket, and will provide more feedback when I’ve accumulated the necessary experience in different match conditions.