Bobby Reynolds’ early-season odyssey with a borrowed stick came to an end today in Sydney, but not before he reached the quarterfinals of the Apia International, picking up 45 ranking points, about $13,000 and a large “you’re welcome” from fellow American Jesse Levine.
Reynolds was beaten 6-3, 6-3 by Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen.
This warmup to the Australian Open looked as if it might be a racket nightmare for the 29-year-old former Vanderbilt All American from Acworth, Ga.
“I came to Australia with six Dunlop rackets but quickly realized they were not right for me, so I left them in Brisbane with some kids and have been using one of Jesse’s rackets,” said Reynolds, whose good showing in Sydney will improve his current No. 126 ranking.
Good buddy Levine was more than happy to help, but changing rackets to something you’re not used to is not that simple. The weight and balance is different, affecting the way you stroke the ball. But, under the circumstances, there wasn’t a plethora of alternatives.
Reynolds had been using the Babolat Pure Drive for about five years, but tried to switch to a Dunlop in the off-season. Wrong move and, worse, he didn’t come to that conclusion until he had flown halfway around the world.
Slightly desperate, he went to Levine, who gave him one racket. “I put my own string in the racket, but I really had no choice with how Jesse’s rackets were balanced or weighted,” said Reynolds. “I practiced two or three days prior to playing here in Sydney.”
That was a pretty quick adjustment. Reynolds swept through three qualifying matches to make the main draw and upset No. 17 ranked John Isner in the second round — his first top-20 win in years.
Although Levine is lefthanded and Reynolds righthanded, the grip was no problem. “Jesse actually has his replacement grip done like a righty, and then puts his overgrip on lefty, so I had no problems with that.
Meanwhile, Reynolds has contacted Babolat and apologized for asking for a rush delivery of six more Pure Drives. “They sent me six unstrung and unweighted, so I continued using Jesse’s,” said Reynolds.
Charles Bricker can be reached at nflwriterr@aol.com.