Matt Wilkinson and Chris Davidson prevail in Round 2 of Billabong Pro Tahiti – 2011 ASP World Tour
The intense surfing action continued at Teahupo’o in Taiarapu, Tahiti, with the 11th and 12th heat of Billabong Pro Tahiti’s Round 2 on Friday, August 26.
Australia’s Matt Wilkinson took an impressive come-from-behind win over Brazil’s Alejo Muniz in the 11th heat to earn his place in the third round, consequently eliminating his rival from the competition.
The 12th heat saw Australia’s Chris Davidson earn a convincing victory over Brazil’s Heitor Alves to advance to the next round, while removing his competitor from the event.
Muniz got off to an outstanding start in the 11th heat and locked a juicy wave to pull off a spectacular and daring stunt, sending both the judges and crowd in awe. Earning a near-perfect score of 9.60, the Brazilian found himself taking an early
and solid lead. However, the first wave remained the only highpoint for him during the heat, as he failed to find another good score. He eventually had to settle for 1.50 points as his second-best wave, finishing with a heat-total of 11.10 points.
After taking a look at the previous two heats, where the surfers were unable to enter double-digit heat totals, Muniz’s score seemed like a promising one. Wilkinson got off to a slow start, earning 4.83 points off his first wave. As the heat progressed,
he struggled to find another good score and it seemed he would end up getting eliminated. However, in the dying minutes of the heat, he locked a wave to throw down a string of impressive manoeuvres to earn 8.93 points and ended up finishing with a heat-total
of 13.76 points to capture the win.
Australia’s Davidson came up with an impressive performance in the 12th heat to walk away with the win. As the heat kicked off, he immediately got down to business, locking a wave to add 6.50 points to his account. A few minutes later, he caught
his second business-wave and mesmerised everyone with a spectacular combination of tricks, earning 9.23 points for the effort to reach a heat-total of 15.73 points.
While the Australian looked at ease during the 30-minute heat, Alves seemed to be struggling to find his rhythm and adjust to the conditions. After a lengthy search, the Brazilian collected a 4.67 and 4.00-point wave to finish with a heat-total of 8.67 points,
consequently conceding victory to Davidson and getting eliminated from the competition.
For more updates on Round 2 of Billabong Pro Tahiti, stay tuned to bettor.com
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