Forgive me — before we go any further I must insist we get the numbering right, because this frame is marked X of 1,000 and the number is part of the object. One thousand were made. Each one carries its own. That is not a marketing flourish, it is a serial, and it means that somewhere there is a first and somewhere there is a last, and yours sits at a fixed point between them.

I find that enormously reassuring and I am aware that says more about me than about the racquet.

Weight 330 grams, 11.6 ounces. Head 630 square centimetres, 98 square inches. Beam 20 millimetres — thin, and one millimetre thicker than the Evo, which is the sort of difference that only matters to people to whom it matters enormously. Length 68.5 centimetres, 27 inches. Balance 31 centimetres, 1.3 inches head-light.

To the specification, which is exact.

String pattern 16 by 19. The Twin Absorber handle system provides precisely the right amount of damping, which is the phrase Volkl use and which I am inclined to accept because the alternative is a frame that either rings or feels dead. Style number V12625.

The livery is the iconic Zebra graphics, and a retro head cover is included, which is the correct way to issue an anniversary edition: mark it, do not redesign it.

What the numbers produce is a frame for an experienced player who prefers traditional weight — head-light balance and 330 grams give it real manoeuvrability in a capable hand, the open pattern gives genuine spin, and the mass blunts an opponent's power so that a defensive ball comes back as an offensive one. Volleys are solid, slice cuts, topspin is heavy.

Duzce is the right setting for something counted and dated, since the Roman theatre of Prusias ad Hypium at Konuralp was cut for 5,000 spectators — a figure somebody worked out before the first stone was laid.

One thousand were made. Yours has a number.

Please do not lose the head cover.

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