Alex Ribeiro and Brent Savage remain impressive in Round 2 of the Australian Open of Surfing
Brazil’s Alex Ribeiro and Australia’s Brent Savage prevailed in their respective Round 2 (Round of 96) heats of the 6-Star Australian Open of Surfing that went down at Manly Beach in New South Wales, Australia, on Thursday, February 16.
With his victory in the fourth heat, Ribeiro advanced through to Round 4 (Round of 48). Reunion Island’s Medi Veminardi kept himself alive in the event by finishing in runner-up place. Brazil’s Miguel Pupo and America’s Andrew Doheny rounded out the third
and fourth position, consequently getting eliminated from the competition.
A win in the fifth heat sent Savage into the next round as well. His compatriot Adrian Buchan successfully extended his life in the competition as well with his runner-up finish. However, the other two Australians in the heat, namely Luke Cheadle and Dean
Morrison, got removed from the contention for the event title after finishing in third and fourth place respectively.
The surfing conditions at Manly Beach were pretty decent, offering surfers a chance to show off their stylish moves in two-foot waves with hardly any wind to make it challenging for them.
Ribeiro adjusted to the conditions exceptionally well and got down to business very early in his Round 2 heat to post a 7.50 on the score-board. He soon added a 6.33 to his account to get to a heat-total of 13.83 points.
Veminardi offered a strong challenge to his Brazilian rival by opening his account with a 5.33-point wave and scoring a 7.50 off his second business-wave. However, he needed to improve his heat-total slightly, which he failed to do and thus finished in a
1.00-point deficit.
The young Brazilian sensation Pupo did not have much luck with the waves during the course of the heat and only managed to find a 4.53 and 5.90-point wave. Doheny put on a rather lacklustre performance as well and consequently finished in fourth place with
a heat-total of 10.16 points.
The very next heat saw the local talent Savage steal the show with his exquisite surfing. He exhibited genuine class and style during the four-man battle, giving the crowd gathered at the shore plenty of excuses to cheer their lungs out. Early in the heat,
he collected a 7.17-point wave and soon posted a 7.67 on the score-board to finish with a heat-total of 14.84 points. The score remained unbeatable until the end to seal the fate of the heat in his favour.
Buchan’s performance was nothing short of impressive either, but he still had to settle for second place after scoring a 5.50 and 8.00 off his best-two waves for a heat-total of 13.50 points.
Cheadle finished in third place with a heat-total of 11.03 points while Morrison’s disappointing performance for a two-wave total of 4.37 put him in last place.
The was still plenty of surfing action to go down at Manly Beach as the surfers converted their determination to stay alive in the competition to exciting performances.
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