Heitor Alves ousts Adriano de Souza to reach Hurley Pro Semi-Finals – 2011 ASP World Tour
After a series of intense battles, the seventh of eleven stops on the 2011 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour, Hurley Pro, came down to the crucial Quarter-Finals stage on Wednesday, September 21, at the iconic point-break of Lower Trestles
in California, America.
The first Quarter-Final turned out to be a real nail-biting affair, but Brazil’s Heitor Alves managed to overcome his countryman, Adriano De Souza, in the final minutes of the heat to clinch victory and advance through to the Semi-Finals.
The 29-year-old Alves did not seem to be in the best of forms at the current stop of the elite tour, as he was fighting for life in the relegation rounds twice. However, he also showed a lot of promise by making a strong come-back on both the occasions,
which included a win over Australia’s formidable, Taj Burrow, in Round 5 to earn a place in the Quarter-Finals. While the come-backs were impressive, the inconsistency was alarming and definitely something that Alves needed to work on before it proved too
costly.
Facing Alves in the first Quarter-Final was De Souza, the surfer who had announced himself as a strong contender for the ASP World title through a handful of excellent performances early in the season and even managed to climb to the top on the ASP World
Title Rankings at one instance. However, his form seemed to have gone on a decline as the elite tour progressed and he started making early exits. De Souza had shown signs of returning form during Quiksilver Pro New York over a week ago and had been going
strong at Lower Trestles so far.
As the first Quarter-Final kicked-off, Alves got down to work right away and locked a promising wave that showed up in the opening minutes of the heat to score 6.50 points off it, getting an early advantage over his rival. De Souza kept searching for a decent
response and eventually found a 5.70-point wave almost half-way through the heat to ease some pressure.
As the heat progressed, both surfers kept searching desperately for a good score. As the battle came close to wrapping up, De Souza utilised a wave to add 6.80 points to his account, moving to a heat-total of 12.50 points. However, Alves locked a wave in
the dying minutes of the heat to score 6.27 points off it and took his heat-total to 12.77 points. The last-minute effort got him a 0.27 lead over his rival, consequently sealing the fate of the contest in his favour and securing his place in the Semi-Finals.
For more updates on Hurley Pro Quarter-Finals, stay tuned to bettor.com.
Tags: