Daniel Ross and Owen Wright advance to Round 3 of Rip Curl Pro Portugal – 2011 ASP World Tour
The thrilling surfing action continued at the renowned surfing spot of Supertubos in Peniche, Portugal, as Australia’s Taj Burrow squared off with his countryman Daniel Ross and America’s Taylor Knox in the third, while Australia’s Owen Wright took on America’s
Patrick Gudauskas and Portugal’s Justin Mujica in the fourth heat of Rip Curl Pro Portugal’s Round 1 on Sunday, October 16.
The third heat featured the first upset of the day as Ross prevailed over the much more experienced Burrow and Knox to clinch the Round 3 spot. Knox and Burrow finished in second and third place respectively, getting pushed into the relegation Round 2 as
a result.
The young Australian prodigy, Wright, dominated the fourth heat to move directly into the third round, leaving Gudauskas and Mujica to round out the second and third position respectively and getting relegated to the second round as a result.
The vast experience of Knox proved to be ineffective during the third heat and was unable to help him keep the 28-year-old Ross from walking away with the win. Knox drew first blood with a mediocre 3.27-point wave and later added a 5.87 to his account, finishing
with a heat-total of 9.14 points. The score eventually forced him to settle for runner-up place.
Burrow is renowned for his ability to perform well under any conditions around the world, but despite the quality one-to-three waves on offer during the third heat at the latest stop of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour, the Australian
was unable to do justice to his reputation. Burrow got off to a promising start, scoring 5.83 points off his first business-wave, but eventually got marked for interference, which resulted in a penalty and caused him to finish third with a heat-total of 7.12
points.
Ross did not look too comfortable during the 30-minute heat either, but was able to seal the contest in his favour with his first wave, which he utilised to post a 7.00 on the score-board. Another 3.07 points was all he needed to see himself off to victory,
securing a place in Round 3.
The fourth heat saw the 21-year-old Wright exhibit a form that had made him one of the strongest contenders for the 2011 ASP World Title over the last month. He got off to a perfect start, locking a wave in the opening minutes to unload a string of impressive
manoeuvres and earned 8.73 points for the effort. A short hunt allowed him to add another 5.50 points to his account, moving him to a heat-total of 14.23 points. The score remained unbeatable throughout the entirety of the 30-minute contest and eventually
carried him to victory, placing him directly into the Round 3 line-up.
Gudauskas was forced to settle for runner-up place after finishing with a heat-total of 10.34 points, which comprised of a 3.17 and 7.17-point wave. The failure to clinch top honours pushed him into the relegation Round 2.
Mujica seemed clueless during the course of the three-man battle and only managed to collect a 3.47 and 1.33 off his top-two waves. The lacklustre performance resulted in his relegation to Round 2 as well, giving him an opportunity to stay in contention
for the event tile by delivering a more competitive performance in his next heat.
For more updates on Round 1 of Rip Curl Pro Portugal, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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