Adriano de Souza and Joel Parkinson take a comfortable win in Round 1 of Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach
Brazil’s Adriano de Souza and Australia’s Joel Parkinson made through into the third round of the latest 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour, Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach, claiming top honours in their respective Round 1 heats that went
down at Bells Beach in Victoria, Australia, on Tuesday, April 3.
De Souza defeated his fellow countryman Raoni Monteiro and America’s Taylor Knox in the third heat to advance straight into Round 3, forcing his rivals to head to the second round to have another go at earning a place in the third round.
The fourth round Australia’s Kai Otton and Adam Melling succumb to Parkinson, sending him through into the third round while getting relegated to Round 2.
With clean three-to-four foot leaves on offer at the primary event site on the first day of the latest ASP World Tour event, the stage was set for an excellent competition as the surfers took each other on in three man battles during Round 1 to reach for
the Round 3 spot.
The 25-year-old De Souza had been spectacular at the first stop of the elite tour, reaching the Final at Gold Coast before succumbing to Australia’s Taj Burrow. The Brazilian brought his solid form to Bells Beach and put on a superb performance in the third
heat of Round 1 to down Monteiro and Knox.
Locking his first business-wave, De Souza posted an 8.17 on the score-board and soon backed it up with a 7.83-point wave to finish with a heat-total of 16.00 points. The score held up until the end to carry him through into the third round.
“I’m really happy with myself to do well on the Gold Coast and then come here with a win in the first round,” De Souza said. “I’ve gotten a lot of waves here the past week. I came here early to get my equipment ready and get used to the conditions and I
think it’s really helped.”
Monteiro and Knox were forced to take a trip to Round 2 after rounding out the second and third position respective with a heat-total of 8.67 and 4.17 points.
The fourth heat saw the 2011 ASP World Runner-Up Parkinson remind every why he is being considered as one of the strongest contenders for the event title this year. Making full use of his knowledge of the local waves, the Australian surfer scored an 8.00
and 9.27 off his best-two waves for a heat-total of 17.27 points.
Otton was forced to settle for runner-up place after finishing with a heat-total of 12.23 points, which included a 5.73 and 6.50-point wave, whereas Melling rounded out the third place with a two-wave total of 8.74 points. Both the surfers got added to the
Round 2 line-up as a result, getting one more opportunity to try and make their way into the third round.
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