Owen Wright defeats Alejo Muniz in Quiksilver Pro New York semifinal – 2011 ASP World Tour
The sixth of eleven stops on the 2011 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour, Quiksilver Pro New York, continued to treat the fans to exciting action with the second semi-final on Friday, September 9, at Long Beach in New York.
The head-to-head battle featured an impressive performance by Australia’s Owen Wright as he prevailed over Brazil’s Alejo Muniz to secure his place in the final, bringing the event-title pursuit to a premature end for his opponent.
Much to the joy of the fans and surfers alike, the latest stop of ASP elite tour continued to run smoothly for a fourth consecutive day. There were no weather or swell issues that would have compelled the event organisers to announce a lay day, something
that had been done quite regularly during the previous stop of the ASP World Tour in Tahiti.
With promising conditions at the primary event site, the battle for the coveted final spot got underway with the ASP World Tour rookie Wright taking on the young Brazilian force, Muniz. Both the surfers had remained quite impressive over the last few days
and their latest bout was expected to be a real intense affair.
As the showdown got underway, the 21-year-old Wright got down to business right away, locking the first juicy wave to pull off an impressive trick, earning 7.17 points for the effort. After a long and determined hunt, the Australian caught another impressive
wave, this time earning 7.67 points for the effort and moving to a heat-total of 14.84 points.
After making it into the semi-final through a series of impressive performances, Muniz failed to keep the momentum going in the second semi-final. Since the start of the 30-minute heat, he struggled to find his rhythm. Almost halfway through the heat, he
caught a wave to earn 6.93 points off it and get back in the contest. However, he only managed to add an additional 2.70 points to his account, finishing with a heat-total of 9.63 points. His weak performance allowed Wright to walk away with a comfortable
victory.
Despite an early disappointment in the competition, the young Australian had managed to bounce back and drill through the rest of the competition like a bullet train. His victory in the semi-final set up his final clash with the 10-time ASP World Champion,
Kelly Slater, for the event-title.
For updates on the Quiksilver Pro New York Final, stay tuned to bettor.com
Tags: