Bede Durbidge prevails over Igor Morais in second round of 2011 Billabong Rio Pro
Australia’s Bede Durbidge faced Brazil’s Igor Morais in the second heat of the second round of Billabong Rio Pro that went down on Wednesday, May 18th, at Arpoador in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The battle turned out to be a real nail-biter, but eventually
Durbidge managed to edge past his Brazilian rival to clinch the win.
The Australian surfer had not enjoyed a smooth sailing during his heat in the second round. The conditions were such that would even test the most experience and skilful surfer. With 2-4 foot waves hitting the Arpoador beach, there was not a lot that the
surfers could do except thrown down some of the less technical tricks and manoeuvres cleanly in an attempt to impress the judges and earn some good score.
Durbidge locked two good surfs and made the best out of them, showing his style and innovation to earn a score of 11.60. While the score does not strike as really impressive on first look, it actually was quite commendable considering the sort of conditions
that he was surfing in.
The Australian also seemed more in rhythm and control on the surfboard than he looked a day earlier. He had ended up with the lowest score during his heat in the first round when facing Brazil’s Jadson Andre and America’s Gabe Kling. The victory on Wednesday
would surely help him to gain some confidence before he enters the third round to face the intimidating competition that awaits the winners of round two on Thursday.
Morais was seen struggling on Wednesday when he went against America’s Patrick Gudauskas and South Africa’s Jordy Smith in the first round, ending up at the bottom of the heat. However, he had evidently upped his game a little and seemed more determined
to make an impact. Unfortunately for him, the effort did not prove to be good enough and he ended up surrendering the victory to his Australian rival after scoring 10.17 against his competitor’s 11.60.
If the conditions at Barra de Tijuca remain good, then the men’s 2011 Billabong Rio Pro is expected to return to the primary event site for the third round.
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