Bede Durbidge and Adriano de Souza successful in Round 2 of Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay
The third and fourth heat of Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay’s Round 2 went down at the coastline of Jeffreys Bay in South Africa on Monday, July 18th.
Australia’s Bede Durbidge managed to clinch a convincing win over South Africa’s Shaun Joubert, who was replacing America’s Bobby Martinez, to advance to the third round while forcing his rival into an early exit from the competition.
The fourth heat saw Brazil’s Adriano de Souza finally break free of the shackles and collect his first heat-win since winning Billabong Rio Pro in May. He downed and ousted America’s Gabe Kling from the competition to make his way through to the third round.
The 28-year-old Durbidge had gotten off to a slow start this season, but was slowly building momentum with a few really impressive performances in the recent weeks. He looked to keep the momentum going at the latest stop of Association of Surfing Professionals
(ASP) World Tour event.
Even though he faltered in the first round of the event, the Australian bounced back strongly in the second round to remain in contention for the event title.
Looking quite impressive throughout his man-on-man battle with the local-surfer Joubert, he capped his heat with a couple of really good waves, earning 8.50 points off the first one and 6.60 off the second, to finish with a heat-total of 15.10 points.
The task of chasing such a score was never going to be easy for the 20-year-old South African due to the tough surfing conditions. Despite a determined effort, he only managed to collect 4.73 and 6.33 off his two best waves, finishing 4.04 points short of
his rival’s two-wave total and consequently surrendering victory to the Australian.
Talking to a reporter after the heat, Durbidge said, “It feels really good to get through that heat. I haven’t had the best year so far and I was getting kind of down on myself. It was an important heat for me in terms of keeping the momentum going from
Brazil.”
The next heat pitted Brazil’s De Souza, currently No. 1 on ASP World Tour rankings, against America’s Kling in a battle for survival. Both the surfers had failed to make a solid impact in the first round and had a lot to prove in their latest heat.
As the heat kicked off, the 24-year-old Brazilian opened his account with a 6.00-point wave. However, Kling responded with an impressive 6.83-point wave to move ahead on the scoreboard.
A few minutes later, De Souza locked another wave and this time showcased his exceptional surfing prowess to earn 8.03 points for the effort. The score took him to a two-wave total of 14.03, allowing him to put pressure on his American rival.
Kling was unable to come up with a decent response this time and only managed to score 5.67 points off his second business-wave, finishing with a heat-total of 12.50 points and accepting defeat.
The last few weeks may have been tough for De Souza, but his fans must be hoping that his victory in Round 2 of the event will be the beginning of yet another streak of outstanding performances.
Talking to a reporter after the heat, the current leader in the hunt for the 2011 ASP World Title said, “I think with every surf I’m building momentum. I’m really happy to make this heat. I’ve been a little low during my last few surfs, but this win really
builds my confidence. I’m just focusing on each heat and each event and not thinking about the title right now.”
With his confidence returning after an impressive performance in Round 2, De Souza will indeed be one of the surfers to look out for in the coming days. There is hardly any doubt about the impact that this surfer is capable of making on his day.
For more updates on Round 2 of Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay, stay tuned to bettor.com
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