Top seeds hold momentum on Round 4 of 2013 Rip Curl Pro Puerto Rico
Not many upsets were seen during the fourth round (Round of 64) of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) 4-Star 2013 Rip Curl Pro Puerto Rico, as the top seeds managed to register victory in the stormy eight-foot waves that were on offer at Isabella
in Puerto Rico on Monday, February 11.
The round that started off with 64 seemingly in-form surfers cut trimmed down to 32 after a series of adrenaline pumping battles.
A variety of strategies were seen throughout the course of the day as the surfers tried to hold their own in conditions that could hardly be considered ideal.
With an impressive prize purse and coveted ASP ranking points on offer, the surfers had plenty of reason to go all out at the on-going ASP 4-Star event.
One of the day’s most impressive surfer, Nathaniel Curran, delivered plenty of entertainment during the ninth round, as he managed to hold off his fellow American surfers Taylor Clark, Blake Jones and Dean Randazzo in a four-man battle.
The 28-year-old Californian opened his account with a 4.67-point ride, but went on to add an additional and apparently decisive 7.00 off his second business-wave, thus finishing with a heat-total of 11.67 points.
“My strategy was to try and be selective,” Curran said. “There’s not a lot of guys catching waves and I lucked in to the first one and it put me on the board. I was trying to be patient and I got caught down in to five minutes before my next good one. I
would have rather got one earlier, but I think the guys that are patient are the guys that are getting through today.”
Curran’s compatriot Clark also advanced through into the fifth round (Round of 32) to continue his campaign for the coveted top honours and respect.
Another American surfer and seasoned ASP World Championship Tour competitor CJ Hobgood had a reputation to live up to since he was the top seed in the event.
The 33-year-old responded to the pressure well and showed a great presence of mind to emerge victorious despite the odds not exactly tilting in his favour.
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