Alejo Muniz triumphs in Round 1 of Rip Curl Pro Search – 2011 ASP World Tour
An outstanding last-minute effort allowed Brazil’s Alejo Muniz to clinch top honours in the 12th heat of Rip Curl Pro Search San Francisco’s Round 1 that took place on Tuesday, November 1, at Ocean Beach in San Francisco, America. The thrilling come-from-behind victory carried him off into Round 3.
Australia’s Josh Kerr failed to come up with a competitive performance and was forced to settle for runner-up place. America’s Brett Simpson was unable to make much of an impact either and rounded out the third position. Both Kerr and Simpson got relegated to Round 2 to surf again and earn their place in the third round.
Kerr had consistently proven to be a formidable force at nearly every stop of the latest Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour. Regardless of the surfing conditions, the Australian had managed to come up with remarkable performances and given his rival a run for their money. Naturally, he was expected to make a similar impact during his Round 1 heat of Rip Curl Pro Search San Francisco.
However the 21-year-old Muniz was not going to let the Australian get the better of him. Proving wiser beyond his years, the young Brazilian prodigy took both Kerr and Simpson by surprise.
With high performance three-to-five foot waves on offer, big scores had been throughout the day, but that was not the case in the final heat of Round 1. All three surfers struggled to catch waves and pull off their tricks cleanly.
Kerr managed to collect a 5.00 and 5.77 off his top-two waves for a heat-total of 10.77 points. Simpson was unable to do anything better and finished with a heat-total of 9.30 points, which included a 4.60 and 4.70-point wave.
Muniz was not being too lucky with the waves either and only managed to get a 4.23 off his first business-wave. As the heat-clock kept ticking away, Kerr seemed to be getting closer and closer to victory. However, Muniz refused to give up and kept hunting for the necessary score desperately. The persistence and determination paid off eventually as he locked the last wave and gave it his all to collect a 6.87, consequently moving to a heat-total of 11.10 points. The score served to seal the fate of the heat in his favour and guaranteed his place in the third round.
Kerr and Simpson may have failed to make much of an impact in Round 1, but the two still have an opportunity to stay in the competition by delivering a winning performance in their Round 2 heat.
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