Yadin Nicol defeats Thiago Camarao to advance to 2011 Nike US Open of Surfing quarter-finals
The eighth Association of Surfing Professional (ASP) Prime event, 2011 Nike US Open of Surfing, continued to narrow down the field of surfers with the fourth heat of Round of 12 (Round 5) that went down at the Huntington Beach Pier, California, on Saturday,
August 6.
The heat saw Australia’s Yadin Nicol walk away as a winner from his head-to-head battle against Brazil’s Thiago Camarao. The outcome of the heat sent Nicol one step closer to the title-shot, while bringing the current Association of Surfing Professionals
(ASP) Prime event campaign of the latter to a premature end.
The clean two-to-four waves gracing the event site raised expectations for a series of exciting battles throughout the day and the final heat of Round 5 surely lived up to these expectations, delivering an intense contest as a determined Nicol and Camarao
sought to keep their qualification campaign alive to make the mid-year cut for the elite ASP Top 34.
Both the surfers had been failing to come up with consistent performances over the last few days, though they still managed to deliver enough to stay alive in the event. While the Australian had finished as the least impressive surfer in his previous heat,
finishing behind Dane Reynolds and Kolohe Andino, Camarao had seemed to be in a much better rhythm, barely missing out on a direct quarter-final spot. It remained to be seen which of the two would shine in the last-chance Round 5 battle.
As the fourth heat kicked off, the 26-year-old Nicol got off to a slow and rather shaky start, failing to get hold of a good score. He kept the hunt going and eventually caught his first business-wave in the later stages of the heat, scoring 5.27 points
off it. The Australian immediately followed it up with a 6.33-point wave to finish with a heat-total of 11.60 points.
The 23-year-old Camarao failed to find his rhythm throughout the course of the 30-minute battle. A desperate search for good waves only managed to take him to a heat-total of 8.87 points, which included a 4.27 and 4.60-point wave. The disappointing effort
forced him to surrender victory to his rival and make an exit from the competition.
During his post-heat interview, Nicol said, “I’m really happy. This is a big contest for me and a great opportunity. I’m pretty excited right now. Thiago is a great surfer and I’m happy to move through to the Quarterfinals.”
The victory sent Nicol to the quarter-finals where he would be competing against South Africa’s Royden Bryson for the semi-final spot.
For updates on the 2011 Nike US Open of Surfing quarter-finals, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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