Kelly Slater dominates Round 4 to enter Rip Curl Pro Search Quarter-Finals – 2011 ASP World Tour
The latest stop of the 2011 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour, Rip Curl Pro Search San Francisco, kept entertaining the crowd with exciting surfing action as America’s Kelly Slater squared off with Brazil’s Gabriel Medina and Miguel Pupo
in the second heat of Round 4 that went down at Ocean Beach in San Francisco, America, on Sunday, November 6.
It seemed that there was absolutely no way to stop a rampaging Slater as he put up an outstanding performance to emerge triumphant in the three-man battle and secure his place in the Quarter-Finals. Medina finished in second place, whereas Pupo rounded out
the third position. Both the Brazilian got relegated to Round 5 as a result to face a must-win situation to stay alive in the competition.
The 39-year-old Slater had sealed the fate of the latest ASP World Tour in his favour already and ran out of fingers to count the number of World Titles in his collection. However, the Floridian had no intention of relaxing and was looking to finish the
season in an even more dominant position.
Facing Slater in the Round 4 heat was the young Brazilian sensation, Medina, who had been making waves in the competitions for the past few weeks. Proving to be wise beyond his years quite a number of times already, Medina was not expected to let Slater
have his way with him without putting up a solid fight.
Pupo completed the line-up for the second heat of Round 4 and though he had not been as good as a form as his other two rivals, nothing could be said with certainty yet. He could be as deadly as anyone on his day.
As the three-man battle got under-way, Pupo made an early charge and posted a 7.33 on the score-board to take the lead. Keeping the momentum going, he soon added another 7.50 points to his account and moved to a heat-total of 14.83 points.
Medina soon rose to the occasion and squeezed a 7.23 off a wave to announce himself as a threat. With another 8.10 points on the score-board, the young Brazilian got past Pupo with a heat-total of 15.33 points.
However, the efforts of both the Brazilians proved to be insufficient as Slater begun his onslaught. After collecting an 8.07 off his first business-wave, the American went on to add an outstanding 9.10 to his account, taking his heat-total to a decisive
17.17 points. The score sealed the fate of the contest in his favour and added him to the Quarter-Finals line-up.
For more updates on Round 4 of Rip Curl Pro Search San Francisco, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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