Julian Wilson opens Hurley Pro with a victory in Round 1 – 2011 ASP World Tour
Australia’s Julian Wilson got off to a perfect start at Hurley Pro, the latest stop of the 2011 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour, by clinching victory in the 10th heat of Round 1 that went down at Lower Trestles in California,
America, on Sunday, September 18.
The 22-year-old secured victory by defeating Brazil’s Miguel Pupo and Alejo Muniz to advance directly to Round 3. Pupo and Muniz got relegated to Round 2 after finishing in second and third place respectively.
Carrying his momentum from Quiksilver Pro New York, where he finished in third place, Wilson completely stole the show during the 10th heat at the iconic point-break of Lower Trestles.
As the heat kicked off, the ASP World Tour rookie took control of the heat immediately by locking a left-hander to pull off a series of exquisite tricks to collect 8.93 points. He soon caught a right-hander to pull off yet another combination of impressive
manoeuvres, earning 8.67 points for the effort and moving to a heat-total of 17.60 points. The score remained unbeaten till the end and eventually carried him off to victory.
During his post-heat interview, Wilson said, “This is my first World Tour event at Trestles and I’ve been looking forward to this my whole life. Those three-man heats, you want to get busy at the start because you can’t sit where you want to sit. You end
up just scratching and that’s what happened in my heat. It’s a different strategy, kind of a dog fight, and you’ve got to make due with what you get.”
Pupo finished in second place after scoring 6.33 and 7.00 points off his top-two waves for a heat-total of 13.33 points. The performance wasn’t a lacklustre one, but Wilson’s onslaught sure made it look like a below-average effort.
Muniz remained the weakest performer during the 10th heat, finishing in third place with a two-wave total of 12.53 points, which comprised of a 5.83 and 6.70-point wave.
Pupo and Muniz still have an opportunity to remain in contention for the event-title if they are able to step up their game and earn a successful result in Round 2.
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