Jesse Mendes and Jordin Watson advance to CHIKO Pro Junior Semi-finals at Newcastle’s Surfest
Brazil’s Jesse Mendes and Australia’s Jordin Watson confirmed their spot in CHIKO Pro Junior Semi-finals at Newcastle’s Surfest that continued to deliver exciting surfing action to the fans at Merewether Beach in New South Wales, Australia, on Sunday, March
11.
Mendes got the better of his fellow countryman Ian Gouveia in the third Quarter-final, while Watson defeated Portugal’s Vasco Ribeiro in the fourth Quarter-final to make their way into the next stage of the competition.
Both Mendes and Gouveia had exhibited a formidable form since the very first round of the event. They successfully downed some of the most promising young talent from around the globe to gradually make their way through the early rounds of the 4-Star Association
of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Men’s Junior Qualifying event.
As the two Brazilians met in the third Quarter-final, the clash turned out to real intense. Gouveia got off to a decent start, posting a 5.00 on the score-board off his first business-wave before following it up with a 7.00-point wave.
Mendes got off to a relatively slow start, but stepped up as the battle reached the half-way stage to collect a 5.75 off his first business-wave. Still trailing behind his rival as the heat entered its final minutes, Mendes locked a wave moments before the
buzzer sounded and collected a 6.65 off it to get to a heat-total of 12.40 points. The heat-total turned out to be a decisive one, putting him 0.40 points ahead of Gouveia to take him through into the next round of the competition.
The fourth Quarter-final featured an encounter between Watson and Ribeiro for the last remaining Semi-final spot on offer.
Watson had been nothing short of spectacular during his previous heats, looking in a real intimidating form. Ribeiro was not any less impressive during the early stages of the event and was expected to offer a solid fight to progress further in the competition.
As the man-on-man battle got underway, Ribeiro got off to a modest start, earning a 4.35 off his first business-wave and later added another 4.15 points to his account to move to a heat-total of 8.50 points.
Watson surfed much better, setting him up ideally to catch good waves. Locking his first business-wave, he posted a 6.00 on the score-board. He backed it up later with an impressive 7.25-point wave to finish with a heat-total of 13.25 points. The score held
up until the end to seal the fate of the contest in his favour and carry him through into the Semi-final.
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