Mick Fanning and Josh Kerr prevail in Round 1 of Rip Curl Pro Portugal – 2011 ASP World Tour
The exciting surfing continued at the iconic beach-break of Supertubos in Peniche, Portugal, on Sunday, October 16, as Australia’s Mick Fanning squared off with his compatriots Adrian Buchan and Kai Otton in the 11th, while Australia’s Josh Kerr
faced Hawaii’s Dusty Payne and Brazil’s Alejo Muniz in the 12th heat of Rip Curl Pro Portugal’s Round 1.
The 11th heat saw the former two-time Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Champion, Fanning, walk away with top honours after narrowly defeating Buchan, consequently advancing directly into Round 3. The latter was forced to settle
for runner-up place, while Otton rounded out the third place. The result of the heat moved both Buchan and Otton into Round 2.
The 12th heat featured a real nail-biting contest between Payne and Kerr, with both the surfers fighting tooth and nail until the very end. In the end, however, the latter managed to edge past his Hawaiian rival to emerge triumphant and secure
a place in Round 3. Payne and Muniz rounded out the second and third place respectively, consequently getting relegated to the second round.
The surfing conditions at the primary event site turned out to be pretty good on the opening day of the latest ASP World Tour event, with clean three-to-five foot waves gracing the banks of Supertubos. A heavy dose of exciting action was expected as some
of the world’s best surfers took each other on for the Round 3 spot in favourable surfing conditions.
One of the most exciting battles of the day took place between the 30-year-old Fanning and his countryman, Buchan, during the 11th heat. Both the surfers gave it their all during the heat and managed to stay at par with each other in terms of
performance for most part of the battle.
As the heat kicked off, Fanning drew first blood with a stunning 9.10 off his first business wave. Buchan rose up to the challenge quite remarkably and responded with a 6.27-point wave, followed by a sensational 9.50-point wave, hence moving to a heat-total
of 15.77 points.
Fanning trailed behind his opponent for a while, before eventually locking a wave in the final minutes of the heat to earn 7.00 points off it and take the lead. He hung on to the lead until the end and successfully sealed the fate of the heat in his favour.
The third Australian in the heat, Otton, failed to meet the standard set by his opponents and consequently finished in third place with a heat-total of 9.73 points, thus getting relegated to Round 2 along with Buchan.
The next heat featured yet another intense battle, this time between the 27-year-old Kerr and Payne. Both the surfers kept putting a determined fight throughout the entirety of the 30-minute heat, refusing to let the other relax.
As the battle got underway, Kerr wasted no time in making a charge and caught a wave to earn 7.77 points off it. Payne kept his Australian rival from getting a huge advantage by responding with a 7.67-point wave immediately.
A few minutes later, the Hawaiian added another 8.57 points to his account, moving to a heat-total of 16.24 points and taking the lead. However, Kerr locked a wave in the dying minutes of the heat to give it his all and collected 8.53 points off it, taking
his heat-total to 16.30 points and hence regaining the lead. He did not allow the lead to slip out of his hands this time and eventually went on to secure top honours.
The third competitor in the heat, Muniz, failed to catch much attention due to his lacklustre performance. Earning 6.33 and 4.00 off his top-two waves, he finished with a heat-total of 10.33 points, consequently rounding out the third place.
For updates on Round 2 of Rip Curl Pro Portugal, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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