Tomas Hermes and Perth Standlick power into San Miguel Pro Zarautz semi-finals
Brazilian surfer Tomas Hermes and Australian powerhouse Perth Standlick emerged triumphant in their respective quarter-final heats at the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 6-Star San Miguel Pro Zarautz that continued at the primary event site of
Zarautz in Basque Country, Spain, on Saturday, September 1.
Hermes took down German’s Marlon Lipke in the third quarter-final to secure his place in the semi-finals, while removing the latter from the contention for the event title.
The fourth quarter-final sent Australia’s Jay Thompson packing after he lost out to his compatriot Standlick at the conclusion of what turned out to be a thrilling affair.
With demanding one-to-two foot waves on offer at the primary event site, the young guns of surfing had plenty of challenge waiting for them on the final day of the ASP 6-Star event. With the competition in its crucial stage, the crowd expected to get treated
to a full-blown entertainment as the battles for survival continued.
Hermes found himself taking on Lipke in the third quarter-final. Since both the surfers had looked in great form over the last few days, their encounter was expected to be a thrilling one.
As the heat kicked-off, the Brazilian surfer earned a 7.93 off his first business-wave and went through a series of modest waves before eventually adding an additional 6.57 points to his account, thus reaching a heat-total of 14.50 points.
Lipke responded with a 5.73-point ride early in the heat, and got hold of a 4.93 points in the dying minutes of the bout, settling for a heat-total of 10.66 points as a result. The effort did not prove enough to challenge Hermes’ score and thus eliminated
him from the competition.
The battle for the last remaining spot in the semi-finals took place between Standlick and Thompson. Even though the bout was expected to be a nail-biting one, Thompson found himself losing to his compatriot by a huge margin.
Standlick’s performance could easily be described as superb. The Australian surfer got off to a slow start, but rebounded back strongly during the later stages of the heat, earning an 8.77 off his first business-wave and backed it up with an impressive 9.90-point
ride, thus finishing with a heat-total of 18.67 points.
Thompson finished with a heat-total of 10.73 points, which included a 4.93 and 5.80-point ride, thus finding himself ejected from the contention for the event title.
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