Kai Otton and Gabriel Medina triumphant in Round 2 of Quiksilver Pro France – 2011 ASP World Tour
The eighth stop of the 2011 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour, Quiksilver Pro France, continued at the renowned beach-break of La Graviere in France on Thursday, October 6, as Australia’s Kai Otton took on his compatriot Adam Melling
in the sixth, while Brazil’s Gabriel Medina squared off with Hawaii’s Dusty Payne in the seventh heat of Round 1.
The sixth heat saw Otton edge past Melling in the final minutes of the battle to clinch victory and advance through into Round 3, eliminating his rival from the competition in the process.
Medina did not have much trouble in defeating Payne in the seventh heat to extend his life in the event by moving into Round 3, while bringing the competition to a premature end for his opponent.
The surfing conditions turned out to be pretty similar to the one that the surfers had to cope with on the first day, with the waves still quite inconsistent and difficult to control. The surfers were evidently struggling to adjust to the demanding conditions
and looking desperate during their hunt for a decent score for the second day in a row.
As the sixth heat of Round 2 kicked off, the 31-year-old Otton got off to a slow start but slowly built momentum to eventually lock a wave to unload a series of impressive manoeuvres, earning 7.50 points for the effort. His countryman, Melling, managed to
shed some pressure off and keep the battle alive with a 5.70-point wave.
In the later stages of the heat, Melling added another 6.43 points to his account, moving to a heat-total of 12.13 points. Otton remained in chase as the heat-clock got closer and closer to the finish time, but managed to catch a wave in the dying minutes
of the battle to add an additional 5.10 points to his account. The last-minute effort took him to a heat-total of 12.60 points, carrying him off to victory and pushing Melling out of the competition.
The seventh heat pitted the 17-year-old Medina against Payne in a do-or-die Round 2, giving both the surfers little room for error. As the battle commenced, the Hawaiian drew first blood by scoring 3.67 points off his first business wave. However, Medina
soon got grabbed the advantage with a 5.50-point wave.
As the heat progressed, the Brazilian added another 6.93 points to his account, moving to a heat-total of 12.43 points. Despite a desperate effort, Payne was only able to post another 3.93 points on the score-board, finishing with a heat-total of 7.60 points.
The lacklustre performance by the Hawaiin forced him to concede victory to Medina, while getting eliminated from the latest ASP World Tour event.
For more updates on Round 2 of Quiksilver Pro France, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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