Miguel Tudela and Leigh Sedley secure victory in Round 3 at Quiksilver Surf Open Acapulco
Peru’s Miguel Tudela and Australia’s Leigh Sedley secured their spot in the fourth round (Round of 32) at the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 4-Star Quiksilver Surf Open Acapulco after claiming top honours in their respective Round 3 (Round of
64) heats that went down at Playa Revolcadero in Acapulco, Mexico, on Friday, July 20.
America’s Shane Beschen and Ian Crane successfully extended their life in the competition as well after securing runner-up position in their respective Round 3 heats.
With two-to-four foot waves on offer at the primary event site along with off-shore conditions, the local and international surfing talent had a real demanding task staring them in the face. The battles were not expected to be anything short of intense,
though big scores hardly seemed likely.
Tudela, equal third-place finisher in El Salvador, found himself pitted against former ASP World Championship Tour veteran Shane Beschen, local talent Cesar Petroni and French Polynesia’s Enrique Ariitu in the 13th heat.
As the battle got underway, the 17-year-old Peruvian surfer put on a charged performance, pulling off a series of exquisite aerial tricks as well as quick turns. His efforts paid off as he managed to reach a heat-total of 11.16 points, which held up until
the end to see him through to victory.
“I’m pretty happy,” Tudela said. “The waves were fun and the tide is coming up so the waves are breaking a little more flat and you can fit in more maneuvers on the wave. I got a couple little waves and then I had the air reverse. Shane Beschen is one of
the greatest of all time and I’m really stoked to have won this heat.”
The 40-year-old Beschen successfully made the Round 4 cut as well after securing runner-up place through a heat-total of 9.67 points, which could hardly be considered a lacklustre effort considering the conditions on hand.
Petroni finished in third place with a heat-total of 6.80 points, while Ariitu rounded out the bottom-position with a two-wave total of 3.04 points. Both the surfers were consequently forced to hit the sidelines.
The 14th heat featured an impressive performance by Sedley as he got the better of Crane, his compatriot Hunter Lysaught and Mexico’s Travis Southworth.
The Australians surfer adeptly navigated his way through the waves to eventually find himself a couple of decent scores, which took him to a heat-total of 11.83 points. The score kept him well out of the reach of his rivals on the score-board, consequently
allowing him to collect top honours.
Crane finished in second place with a two-wave total of 8.17 points, thus qualifying for the next round as well.
San Diego’s Lysaught had to settle for a third place after finishing with a heat-total of 5.88 points, while local surfer Southworth finished fourth with a two-wave total of 4.80 points.
The exciting surfing action continued at the primary event site with the remaining Round 3 heats of ASP 4-Star Quiksilver Surf Open Acapulco.
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