Adriano de Souza gets off to a perfect start at Rip Curl Pro Search – 2011 ASP World Tour
Fresh off the win in Portugal, Brazil’s Adriano de Souza carried his winning momentum with him to Ocean Beach in San Francisco, America, to clinch top honours in the second heat of Rip Curl Pro Search San Francisco’s Round 1 on Tuesday, November 1.
The confident win in his opening heat of the competition moved him directly into Round 3. His compatriot, Jadson Andre, failed to offer much of a challenge and eventually had to settle for runner-up place. America’s Dane Reynolds remained the least impressive
surfer of the lot and rounded out the third position. The failure to clinch top position resulted in the relegation of Andre and Reynolds into the second round.
The 24-year-old De Souza had emerged as a real formidable force this season and announced himself as a strong contender for the 2011 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Title. However, he began to struggle with his rhythm as the season progressed
and eventually started making early exits from the competition. If anyone thought that the Brazilian was done with his days of glory, they could not have been more wrong. After showing clear signs of returning form, De Souza emerged as a shadow of former self
at the ninth stop of the elite tour in Portugal and managed to down America’s Kelly Slater to take the win. There could not have been a batter way to respond to the criticisms that he had been receiving for his alleged lack of form.
As he made his way to San Francisco for the latest stop of the 2011 ASP World Tour, De Souza picked up right where he left off at Peniche, Portugal. Pitted against Andre and Reynolds in the second heat of Rip Curl Pro Search San Francisco’s Round 1 in clean
three-to-five foot waves, the Brazilian force made a solid charge and collected a 6.27 off his first business-wave. He soon added another 7.33 points to his account, moving to a heat-total of 13.60 points and walking away with top honours.
Talking to a reporter after the head, De Souza said, “Coming off the win in Portugal last event has given me a lot of confidence. We had amazing waves, but the waves are fun here too. It’s much colder, but it’s not too bad. San Francisco is beautiful and
we’re very fortunate to have all the support of the locals for having us here.”
Andre tried to give his countryman a fight, but the effort turned out to be in vain. He eventually had to settle for second place with a heat-total of 11.43 points, which included a 6.50 and 4.93-point wave.
Participating in just his second event of the 2011 ASP World Tour, Reynolds failed to impress the crowd and judges with his rather lacklustre performance. He got off to promising start with a 6.17-point wave in the opening minutes of the heat, but failed
to follow it up with another decent score and eventually finished with a heat-total of 9.00 points.
The outcome of the heat sent De Souza directly into Round 3, whereas Andre and Reynolds had to surf once again to earn their place in the third round.
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