Raoni Monteiro prevail in Round 1 of Quiksilver Pro New York – 2011 ASP World Tour
The ninth heat of Quiksilver Pro New York’s Round 1 concluded with Brazil’s Raoni Monteiro walking away with top honours after defeating Australia’s Adam Melling and Tahiti’s Michel Bourez on Tuesday, September 6, at Long Beach in New York, America.
The victory sent Monteiro straight to the third round, while Melling and Bourez headed to the relegation Round 2 after rounding out the second and third position.
As the battle commenced in two-to-four waves, none of the three surfers seemed comfortable with the conditions and struggled to utilise the waves on offer while trying to show off the skills. The 29-year-old Monteiro got off to a relatively better start
than his rivals, locking a wave to collect 4.87 points.
Almost midway through the heat, Melling took the lead by riding a wave for 5.17 points. He immediately followed it up with a 5.33-point wave to reach a heat-total of 10.50 points, taking an upper hand in the battle.
In the final minutes of the heat, Monteiro caught his second business-wave and managed to earn 5.93 points off it, moving to a heat-total of 10.80 points. The score not only carried him ahead of Melling, it eventually carried him off to victory, earning
him a place in the third round without the hassle of going through Round 2.
Bourez apparently struggled to adjust to the waves and ended up giving a rather disappointing performance. He finished in third place with a heat-total of 7.66 points, which included a 3.93 and 3.73-point wave.
Despite a disappointing result in the first round, Both Melling and Bourez still had an opportunity to advance further in the competition by bringing their A-game to their Round 2 heat.
While a handful of surfers are currently worried about their current rankings, all three surfers in the ninth heat were safe in the upcoming Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) rotation which would be removing anyone below the 32nd ranking
on the ASP World ranking from World Title campaign. Among the three surfers, Monteiro ranked the lowest, World No.18, which is well within the safe zone as well.
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