Owen Wright and Alejo Muniz triumphant in Round 3 of Rip Curl Pro Search – 2011 ASP World Tour
Rip Curl Pro Search San Francisco kept the action going as Australia’s Owen Wright squared off with his compatriot Adam Melling in the seventh heat, while Brazil’s Alejo Muniz took on his countryman Raoni Monteiro in the eighth heat of Round 3 that went
down at Ocean Beach in San Francisco, America, on Wednesday, November 2.
The seventh heat turned out to be pretty one-sided as Wright took control of the heat early on and held on to it until the very end to eventually walk away with top honours, advancing through into the fourth round while removing Melling from the competition.
The battle for the Round 4 spot turned out to be much more intense in the eighth heat, with Muniz and Monteiro pushing each other to the limit. As the dust settled, Muniz stood victorious with his place in the next round confirmed, whereas the outcome of
the heat marked the end of the road for Monteiro.
The 21-year-old Wright had bounced back strongly in the second round after facing an early disappointment in Round 1. With the sort that he has been over the last couple of months, the Australian was never expected to go down that easily.
As the seventh heat of Round 3 got under-way, Melling drew first blood with a 5.33-point wave. Wright rose up to the occasion quite well and took the lead with a 7.77-point wave, pushing his countryman on the back-foot.
As the heat progressed, Wright maintained his advantage and eventually added an outstanding 9.77 points to his account to take his heat-total of 17.54 points. Melling searched desperately for the necessary score but only managed to earn a 7.10 off his second
business-wave. Finishing in a 5.11-point deficit, he was forced to surrender victory to Wright and sent him through into Round 4.
Talking to the media afterwards, Wright said, “I was loving it out there. As soon as I got out there, I got told there would be a break after Kelly’s heat I didn’t even know it had started. After that they started calling out my scores and I was thinking
‘what have I done.’ It’s just really fun out there actually.”
The eighth heat saw Muniz and Monteiro take each other on in a battle for survival. Monteiro got off to a great start, earning a 7.33 off his first business-wave. After a lengthy search, he managed to add another 7.07 points to his account, moving to a heat-total
of 14.40 points.
The 21-year-old Muniz had no intention of letting his rival relax and made a charge in the final minutes of the heat. Collecting a 7.77 off his first business-wave, the Brazilian set himself up for a possible win, though he was running out of time to get
the necessary score. However, he eventually caught a wave in the dying minutes to the battle to add an additional 7.33 to his account, moving to a heat-total of 15.10 points, consequently securing victory and advancing through into the next round.
For more updates on Round 3 of Rip Curl Pro Search San Francisco, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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