Patrick Gudauskas defeats Jordy Smith to advance to Mr. Price Pro Ballito final
The first semi-final of the latest Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Prime event, Mr. Price Pro Ballito, went down at the Surfers Beach in Ballito, South Africa, on Saturday, July 9th.
America’s Patrick Gudauskas continued his winning momentum and managed to take down the defending champion from South Africa, Jordy Smith, after an intense battle.
The 25-year-old American had turned out to be a force to be reckoned with over the last five days of the competition. In each round, Gudauskas, who is currently ASP World No.27, had made a solid impact in order to collect victory, except for the fourth round
where a minor hiccup in his performance and excellent performance by Brazil’s Junior Faria had put him in second place and hence Round 5. However, he had bounced back strongly and made it quite clear that he deserved to be in the quarter-finals.
The quarter-final pitted him against Faria once again and this time, the American successfully avenged himself by eliminating his rival and advancing to the semi-final to face his next big challenge, Smith.
Meanwhile, 24-year-old Smith had been nothing short of outstanding in the current ASP Prime event. The ASP World No.2 surfer had remained consistent throughout the competition to down his opponents and gradually make his way to the semi-final stage, determined
to defend his title successfully.
Facing each other in the semi-final, both the surfers were unable to bring their best to the battlefield. The surfing conditions were nothing that they had not already experienced during the last five days and had adjusted to. However, they were unable to
cope with the conditions that well on Saturday.
After collecting a couple of scores in the four-range, Gudauskas finally broke free of the shackles and locked a wave to score 6.83 points off it to take the lead. Smith picked up his game as well and responded with a 5.23-point wave to narrow the gap.
Smith immediately added a 6.33 to his account to move to a heat-total of 11.56 points, putting his rival under immense pressure in the final moments of the heat. However, Gudauskas caught one final wave just before the time finished and managed to collect
4.87 points off it to move to a heat-total of 11.70 points, edging past the South African by merely 0.14 points, much to the dismay of the local crowd.
With the elimination of Smith, there was no more representation for the host country in the competition. Gudauskas advanced to the final with the hope of earning top honours and raising the American flag.
For updates on the second semi-final, stay tuned to bettor.com
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