Heitor Alves and Josh Kerr survive Round 5 of Hurley Pro – 2011 ASP World Tour
The latest stop of the 2011 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour, Hurley Pro, continued with the first and second heat of Round 5 at the iconic point-break of Lower Trestles in California, America, on Wednesday, September 21.
The first heat saw Brazil’s Heitor Alves create the first upset of the day by defeating Australia’s Taj Burrow to secure his place in the quarter-finals. He also eliminated the latter from the competition in the process.
Australia’s Josh Kerr came up with an impressive performance in the second heat to down France’s Jeremy Flores and confirmed his place in the quarter-finals, consequently bringing the competition to a pre-mature end for his rival.
As the opening heat got underway on the fourth consecutive day of the elite tour event, the 29-year-old Alves got down to business right away, locking a wave to earn 6.17 points off it and grabbing an early advantage. A long and patient hunt allowed him
to add another 6.57 points to his account, consequently moving to a heat-total of 12.74 points. The score remained unbeatable until the end and eventually carried him to victory.
Prior to the beginning of the heat, Burrow was a heavy favourite in the Round 5 bout. However, he was unable to come up with an adequate response to his rival’s performance and only managed to get to a heat-total of 9.80 points, which included a 5.10 and
4.70-point wave. The lacklustre performance resulted in his elimination from the competition.
The second heat pitted the in-form Kerr against Flores, who was proving to be a formidable force over the last few weeks as well. With the pressure of elimination upon them, both surfers needed to remain focused and come up with their A-game in order to
remain in contention for the event-title.
As the heat kicked-off, it became quite apparent in the opening minutes that Kerr was in a much better rhythm as compared to his rival. Locking his first business-wave, the Australian unloaded a series of impressive tricks to collect 7.60 points and earn
an upper hand in the battle. He managed to add an additional 7.67 points to his account, finishing the heat with a two-wave total of 15.27 points.
Flores struggled to catch waves throughout the entirety of the 30-minute heat and eventually had to settle for a heat-total of 12.97 points, which included a 7.00 and a 5.97-point heat. The disappointing performance forced him to concede victory to Kerr,
sending the Australian to the quarter-finals.
For more updates on Round 5 of Hurley Pro, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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