Patrick Gudauskas and Brett Simpson survive Round 2 of Quiksilver Pro France – 2011 ASP World Tour
The eighth stop on the 2011 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour, Quiksilver Pro France, kept the fans on the edge of their seat at the beach-break of La Graviere in France on Sunday, October 9, as America’s Patrick Gudauskas faced Australia’s
Matt Wilkinson in the 10th heat, while America’s Brett Simpson squared off with Hawaii’s Fredrick Patacchia in the 11th heat of Round 2.
The 10th heat turned out to be completely one-sided with Gudauskas comfortably prevailing over Wilkinson to go through into Round 3, while removing his opponent from the contention for the event title in the process.
Simpson defeated Patacchia in the 11th heat to make his way into the third round, consequently bringing the competition to a premature end for his rival.
The five-foot waves gracing the primary event site on Sunday turned out to be quite challenging once again, making it extremely difficult for the surfers to get their hands on a big score. Skills and experience alone were not alone to guarantee a win, with
the luck of the surfers playing an integral role in determining the fate of their battles.
Pitted against each other in the 10th heat of the do-or-die Round 2, Gudauskas and Wilkinson could not afford a lacklustre performance and needed to deliver in order to extend their life in the competition. The conditions were indeed challenging,
but they now needed to adjust to whatever waves were on offer.
As the head-to-head battle got under-way, Wilkinson drew first blood with a disappointing 2.50-point wave. The 25-year-old Gudauskas almost immediately responded with a 5.53-point wave, taking the lead and putting his rival under pressure.
A few minutes later, the American managed to add an impressive 7.00 to his account, moving to a heat-total of 12.53 points, pretty much moving the win out of Wilkinson’s reach. The Australian eventually finished with a heat-total of 6.50 points, failing
to make his defeat less bitter.
The 11th heat tuned out to be pretty one-sided as well, with the 26-year-old Simpson taking control of the heat in the opening minutes by locking a wave to unload a series of impressive manoeuvres, earning 7.83 points for the effort. He soon added
another 5.93 points to his account, moving to a heat-total of 13.76 points.
Patacchia failed to find his rhythm throughout the entirety of the 30-minute heat and only managed to collect a 4.67 and 3.00 off his top-two waves, consequently finishing with a heat-total of 7.67 points. This forced him to concede victory to his American
rival and get eliminated from the competition as a result.
For updates on Round 2 of Quiksilver Pro France, stay tuned to bettor.com.
Tags: