Marin Cilic has shown the tennis world that he is a force to reckon with now that he’s made three grand slam finals and won at least one GS title, along with the Cincinnati masters title in 2016. But what racquet does he use?
A lot of people are wondering what kind of frame gives Cilic the power to hit through the court and his opponents like that? I can tell you it’s a quite powerful frame, but not from the stiffness, but from being quite heavy in the head. The paint job is a HEAD Graphene Touch Prestige Mid
 (he used to use a Radical paint job for a long time), but the model is a pro stock with the code TGK 231.3 which means it is the mould from a Head Microgel Radical MP with an open string pattern.
I used to own and use one of Cilic’s actual frames and another TGK 231.3 and they are really nice-playing frames with nice feel, but also good spin. There was a quite a bit of lead tape on Cilic’s frame which increases the swing weight and makes it play more powerful, but without lead and silicone it wouldn’t be the same. The Head Microgel Radical MP
is one of the most popular “platform” frames which are great for customizing with lead and silicone (or blu-tack). Cilic’s frame also has a custom molded L4 grip, not in the rectangular Head shape, but more Wilson-like, similar to the TK82S pallets. (Since it doesn’t come with pallets, you can’t change the grip size.)
If I remember correctly, the specs were around 350 grams strung with a balance around 32,5 cm. He uses Babolat VS 16 Natural Gut
in the mains and Big Banger ALU Power 1.25
in the crosses. Tension around 25-26 kg depending on conditions.
Here are some pics of my Cilic frames:
If you like the design of Cilic’s racquet and would see it as too heavy to play with, you can get the HEAD Graphene Touch Prestige Mid
, which I’ve yet to review, but have written about here in my post about the HEAD Graphene Touch Prestige series.
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13 comments
Hi, how about handle size? Also, when he began with Goran Ivaniševi? his game changed markedly, so I was always wondering whether he changed his racquet, towards heavier for example? Strings? Thanks for the great site :)
Hi Sasa,
Thanks for your comment. I added some info around strings and handle in the post. His handle size is a custom moulded L4 (similar to the TK82S pallet, which is more rounded and less rectangular than the usual Head-size). As far as I know, Cilic hasn’t changed any racquet specs, but I’m sure being coached by Ivanisevic game him some solid pointers around his game and likely also some extra confidence.
Really happy you like the site! Cheers / Jonas
Hi, really enjoy your site. I am also a bit of a geek when it comes to racquets and what the pros play.
Your site has now become my go to point when I want to know what racquet a certain pro uses.
Keep up the good work.
Thanks a lot for the nice comment!
No way is Cilic still using the 231.3. He was using it till first Graphene pj, then he changed to something else, maybe 293.1. Still I can not figure out what he is using now. Same story with Dodig, he switched to different mold when he switched from Radical pj to Prestige.
Hi Cris,
Why would he not be using the 231.3? A 293.1 would not be too far away, but I have not heard about a change. I know HEAD is pushing players to move to newer layups and towards the TGT 292.2 etc instead of PT57A, TGK, PT10…but not sure he has made the switch. I might be wrong though and will try to dig deeper. Cheers / J
Jonas,
Can you please share how, specifically, you customized your Microgel Radical MP? I currently play the OS version and enjoy its flexible feel but find it a bit unwieldy.
Much appreciated,
Jaime
Hi Jaime,
I added a Volkl leather grip (thicker and heavier than most), four grams at 3 and 9 and 2 grams at 6. Cheers / Jonas
Jonas,
Wonderfully informative site – recently came across and find your reviews very helpful. Aside from the customized specs for the Microgel Radical MP that you shared (weighting and leather grip replacement), what string set up and tension do you recommend that is best for this racquet?
Thanks,
Alex
Hi Alexander,
I would go for a hybrid with natural gut or HEAD Velocity MLT in the mains at 25 kg and Luxilon Alu Power, HEAD Lynx or RS Lyon in the crosses at 24 kg. Cheers / J
Thanks, Jonas! I also have the microgel radical pro with some lead tape at 3 and 9. I’ve tried a hybrid and full bed of poly setup at varying tensions but given the open 16×19 pattern, and to me at least relatively stiffer frame than the MP version, what string setup and tension do you think plays best with this pro version of the microgel radical?
Appreciate it!
Alex
FYI, apparently, Cilic really did switch to a Rev Pro mold (TGT312 – 93, 16×19) post – 2014 (where he did have some great results).
I had thought he was on a Radical MP mold as well
Hey Jonas I recently got hold of a tgk231.3 c010601, might you have an idea how would I find out whose it was?