Fredrick Patacchia and Bede Durbidge enter Round 4 of Rip Curl Pro Portugal – 2011 ASP World Tour
The latest stop of the 2011 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour, Rip Curl Pro Portugal, continued to treat the crowd to a heavy dose of adrenaline-pumping action as Hawaii’s Fredrick Patacchia squared off with South Africa’s Jordy Smith
in the seventh, while Australia’s Bede Durbidge took on his countryman Mick Fanning in the eighth heat of Round 3 that went down at the iconic beach-break of Supertubos in Peniche, Portugal, on Monday, October 17.
The seventh heat turned out to be an extremely nail-biting affair, with both Smith and Patacchia fighting tooth and nail until the very last minute. In the end, however, it was the latter who managed to walk away with top honours, creating one of the biggest
upsets of the day by eliminating the in-form Smith from the competition.
The eighth heat turned out to be quite intense as Durbidge and Fanning put forward an array of excellent manoeuvres to the delight of the crowd. However, Durbidge eventually managed to prevail over the former two-time ASP World Champion, Fanning, to advance
through into Round 4 while bringing the competition to a premature end for his rival.
Smith has turned out to be one of the most prominent surfers during the latest season of the ASP World Tour, sitting comfortably in the Top-five in the ASP World Title Rankings. He brought his form to Peniche and got off to an excellent start. However, Patacchia
was able to bringing the excellent run of the South African to an end during the third round of Rip Curl Pro Portugal on Monday.
The 29-year-old Patacchia went through a series of average scores before posting a 6.83 points on the score-board. Smith got off to a patient start but eventually made a late charge to collect 5.90 points off his first business-wave. Keeping the momentum
going, the South African added an outstanding 9.00 to his account and moved to a heat-total of 14.90 points, putting his Hawaiian rival under pressure.
Just when it seemed that the South African had wrapped his fingers around victory, Patacchia caught a wave to give it his all and collect 8.23 points for the effort. The last-minute effort took the Hawaiian to a heat-total of 15.06 points and consequently
sealed the fate of the battle in his favour.
The eighth heat of Round 3 also turned out to be quite a thrilling affair, with Durbidge and Fanning stretching each other to the limit during their pursuit of top honours.
The 30-year-old Fanning got off to an outstanding start, locking a wave early in the heat to post a 9.57 on the score-board. A few minutes later, he added another 7.60 points to his account and rose to a heat-total of 17.17 points, setting himself up for
a win.
Despite a slow start, Durbidge gradually built momentum and collected an 8.33-point wave, following it up with a perfect 10.00-point wave to send the crowd and judges in awe. The two scores got him to a heat-total of 18.33 points and carried him off to victory,
For more updates on Round 3 of Rip Curl Pro Portugal, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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