Tanner Hendrickson and Leigh Sedley to face-off for ASP 4-Star Quiksilver Surf Open Acapulco Title
Hawaii’s Tanner Hendrickson and Australia’s Leigh Sedley earned themselves a shot at the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 4-Star Quiksilver Surf Open Acapulco Title after claiming top honours in their respective Semi-final heats that went down
at the main event site of Playa Revolcadero in Mexico on Sunday, July 22.
The first Semi-final saw Hendrickson get the better of America’s Michael Powell to advance through into the final, while eliminating his rival from the competition.
Costa Rica’s Carlos Munoz was forced to make an exit from the contention for the event title after succumbing to Sedley in the second Semi-final, sending the latter into the final stage of the competition.
The six-foot waves on offer at the primary event site kept the surfers on the back-foot even during the semi-final stage, making it tough for them to collect big-scoring rides.
Pitted against Powell in the first Semi-final, Hendrickson clearly had his work cut out for him as his rival had been one of the standout performers since the very first day of the competition.
Both Hendrickson and Powell fought tooth-and-nail in demanding surfing conditions, doing everything they could to post a series of scores on the score-board. The Hawaiian surfer eventually finished with a heat-total of 8.80 points, beating his rival by a
mere 0.03 points to claim top honours.
Powell seemed pretty satisfied with an equal-third finish, stating, “This is by far the furthest I’ve made it in an ASP event and it’s a little disappointing to make it this far and get cut, but I’m happy. I’m definitely doing the Virginia Beach contest
and hopefully I can carry some momentum over to there.”
The next heat saw Sedley and Munoz squaring off for a place in the Final. The inconsistent waves once again made a huge impact in the battle, with both the surfers clearly struggling to maintain control during their search for a couple of decent scores.
Sedley eventually managed to reach a heat-total of 12.10 points, consequently taking a win over Munoz, who finished with a two-wave total of 7.00 points.
“The waves were really inconsistent and it’s really hard out there, but I tried my best,” Munoz said later in the day. “I was waiting patiently and I couldn’t find a good one, but I’m happy to be here doing events in Latin America.”
With the conclusion of the semi-finals, only one more heat remained to determine the fate of ASP 4-Star Quiksilver Surf Open Acapulco.
Tags: