Matt Wilkinson downs Gabriel Medina to qualify for Quiksilver Saquarema Prime semi-finals
Australia’s Matt Wilkinson took the win over Brazil’s Gabriel Medina in the third Quarter-final of Quiksilver Saquarema Prime presented by Coca-Cola at Itauna Beach in Saquarema, Brazil, on Sunday, May 27.
Despite being a low-scoring affair, the battle turned out to be a gripping one, keeping the crowd guessing until the very end as to who would eventually walk away from the battle with top honours.
The fourth event on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) PRIME calendar continued to deliver a series of spectacular performances as the talented surfers from all corners of the world kept showing their determination to stay alive in the contention
for the event title. The $US 40,000 and up to 6,500 ASP ranking points on offer was a strong motivation for the contenders to push hard during their battles.
The surfing conditions on hand seemed ideal for yet another dose of thrilling action, with sunny skies and three-to-five foot waves prevailing at the point-break of Itauna Beach. Even though the first couple of Quarter-finals saw the competitors struggling
to get their hands on big scores, the expectations of the crowd did not get any less of the remaining battles that were left in the event.
The third Quarter-final saw Wilkinson square-off with Medina in a man-on-man battle for the semi-final spot. Both the surfers had been displaying an impressive form since the start of the season and had continued to look good during their current trip to
the state of Rio de Janeiro. They had done well to reach the quarter-finals stage, but it was possible for only one of them to advance further in the event.
Making his determination to remain the competition field prominent, Medina caught plenty of waves during the course of the heat, desperate to register a couple of good scores to increase his chances of winning. Despite all his efforts, he was only able to
post a 5.67 and 3.00 on the score-board, thus reaching a heat-total of 8.67 points.
Wilkinson, on the other hand, remained a bit patient and carefully analysed the sea for a potent opportunity to capitalise on. He eventually got hold of the best left-hander of the heat and utilised it to post a 7.33 on the score. Still trailing behind his
Brazilian rival with only a few minutes to go in the heat, Wilkinson caught a 2.93-point ride to edge past his rival with a heat-total of 10.26 points. The last-minute effort kept the Australian surfer from tasting defeating and served to take him through
into the next stage of the competition.
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