Josh Kerr and Patrick Gudauskas advance to Round 4 of Rip Curl Pro Search – 2011 ASP World Tour
Stop number 10 of the 11 on the 2011 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour, Rip Curl Pro Search San Francisco, delivered a heavy dose of surfing action to the fans as Australia’s Josh Kerr took on Portugal’s Tiago Pires in the 11th
heat, while America’s Patrick Gudauskas squared off with South Africa’s Jordy Smith in the 12th heat of Round 3 that went down at Ocean Beach in San Francisco, America, on Sunday, November 6.
The 11th heat saw both Kerr and Pires struggling to get their hands on a good score due to the sudden scarcity of good waves. The Australian surfer eventually made a late charge to clinch victory and advance through into Round 4, removing his
rival from the contention for the event title in the process.
Gudauskas successfully downed the intimidating Smith in the 12th heat to go through into the next round, consequently bringing the competition to a premature end for his rival.
Kerr and Pires had failed to get off to an ideal start on the opening day of the competition, though they did manage to bounce back strongly in the second round. Both had shown signs of inconsistency during the first two days, though a three-day rest may
have allowed them to remove the kinks from their form and perform much better in Round 3.
As the 11th heat kicked off, Pires got off to a relatively decent start and soon locked a wave to post a 5.30 on the score-board to take an early advantage. Adding an additional 4.53 points to his account in the final minutes of the heat, he finished
with a two-wave total of 9.83 points.
The 27-year-old Kerr got off to a slow and shaky start but managed to find his rhythm just in time to make a strong charge in the dying minutes of the heat. He caught a wave to score an 8.67 off it and soon followed it up with a 7.77-point wave to take his
heat-total to 16.44 points. The score carried him off to victory and moved him into the fourth round.
The final heat of Round 3 saw the 25-year-old Gudauskas make use of his local knowledge of the waves to prevail over the formidable South African force, Smith. The battle was expected to be nothing short of intense as both the surfers seemed to be in extremely
good form.
As the 30-minute bout got under-way, Gudauskas got off to a shaky start and only managed to score a 4.73 off his first business-wave. Almost 10 minutes into the heat, Smith locked a wave to unload a string of exquisite tricks and collecting a 7.00 for the
effort. He soon added another 3.90 to his account to take his heat-total to 10.90 points.
Trailing the South African for most part of the heat, Gudauskas eventually caught a juicy wave to give it his all and ended up earning an 8.73, which moved him to a heat-total of 13.46 points. The score turned out to be a decisive one and confirmed his place
in the fourth round.
For updates on Round 4 of Rip Curl Pro Search San Francisco, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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