Stick shift: Verdasco switches to Dunlop
Originally published on: 31/03/10 15:51
Well, they say the third one’s the charm. Or something like that.
Clearly a difficult man to keep tied down to just one stick, Fernando Verdasco has dumped Tecnifibre and is starting a new life with Yonex. No, wait, that was last month. Dunlop. Yep, definitely Dunlop.
The world No.12 has signed a new contract with the Brit-based stick stable starting almost immediately, following Nikolay Davydenko to the brand.
Rumours of a split with the French racket manufacturer started last November while Verdasco was in action at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. When he turned up in San Jose with one of Yonex’s forthcoming models – and left with the title – it looked as though he had fallen for the Japanese frames.
It didn’t last – must’ve been a rebound thing – and he was soon reunited with his T-Fight 320 VO2 Max. But when the stencil paint disappeared from his strings in Miami this week, a terminal break-up looked on the cards.
And so it has proved. “Becoming a brand ambassador for Dunlop is a very proud moment for me,” he said in a statement today. “I look forward to joining the great players already associated with the brand. I am continuing to work hard and with the help from Dunlop I hope to be able to make this my most successful year to date.”
The 26-year-old Spaniard will be using Dunlop rackets, strings and accessories as soon as he’s grooved himself in with one of the frames.
Barry Leach, MD of Dunlop Sport, is certainly happy that FeVer’s joining the family. “Fernando is a world class addition to Dunlop and exemplifies the quality we look for at the brand,” he said. “He plays an exciting style of tennis and, if he can build on last year’s performances, I would expect him to be a main fixture in the ATP top ten this year.”
While he will continue wearing his adidas kit, Verdasco will also play a key role endorsing Dunlop’s junior talent identification programme, D-Squad, as part of the new deal. Sounds like a match made in heaven.
Dunlop. Definitely Dunlop. She’s the one.
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