LIHU‘E — The Rip Curl Pro Portugal completed Round 4 Wednesday afternoon in punchy two- to three-foot waves at the backup venue of Belgas, states an ASP press release. South Africa’s Jordy Smith, current ASP World No. 2, proved the
LIHU‘E — The Rip Curl Pro Portugal completed Round 4 Wednesday afternoon in punchy two- to three-foot waves at the backup venue of Belgas, states an ASP press release.
South Africa’s Jordy Smith, current ASP World No. 2, proved the form surfer of the day, netting a near-perfect 9.93 out of a possible 10 for an incredible aerial 360.
“That score didn’t change my approach much actually,” Smith said. “Jadson (Andre) and Owen (Wright) can pull big scores out at any moment. I knew I couldn’t ease up and needed a solid backup score.”
One of the remaining threats in the hunt for the 2010 ASP World Title, Smith remains nonchalant when discussing his plans for the end of the year.
“It would be nice to win but there’s more to life than just the title,” Smith said. “It’s an incredible opportunity for me to have for someone at my age and I’m just looking forward to the end of the year. I’m enjoying myself.”
Current ASP World No. 1 Kelly Slater dominated his Round 4 heat, taking advantage of the non-elimination format.
“This round definitely allows you to relax and loosen up a bit for sure,” Slater said. “Of course, winning today takes the pressure off a little bit and let’s you bypass a round on the last day.”
Australia’s Adrian Buchan, ASP World No. 6, opened up the action in incredible form Wednesday morning, dispatching of Matt Wilkinson and Michel Bourez en route to his advancement to the quarterfinals.
“It’s really fun out there but kind of hard to find the ones that really line up,” Buchan said. “Matty (Wilkinson) and Michel (Bourez) were really getting frustrated out there, but I was just focusing on picking good waves and surfing them completely.”
France’s Jeremy Flores, current ASP World No. 20, kept the European contingent progressing through the day, taking out his Round 4 bout and moving to the quarterfinals.
“It’s all good,” Flores said. “As long as I win heats, I’m stoked. I haven’t had the best waves in the last few heats but today was pretty fun. The last few years, I’ve been trying add airs and fin throws to my repertoire and it hasn’t been working. I’ve moved back to what I do best and it’s been working really well for me. I’m stoked to be in the Quarterfinals and hope I can keep going.”
Event organizers will reconvene today at 8 a.m. at the primary site of Supertubos to assess conditions for a possible 8:30 a.m. start.
When competition resumes, up first will be Michel Bourez up against Chris Davidson in Heat 1 of Round 5.
RIP CURL PRO PORTUGAL MEN’S ROUND 4 RESULTS:
Heat 1:Adrian Buchan (AUS) 14.77, Michel Bourez (PYF) 9.03, Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 5.50
Heat 2:Kelly Slater (USA) 13.60, Damien Hobgood (USA) 10.83, Chris Davidson (AUS) 6.08
Heat 3:Jeremy Flores (FRA) 14.07, Travis Logie (ZAF) 13.73, Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 10.17
Heat 4:Jordy Smith (ZAF) 17.16, Jadson Andre (BRA) 13.57, Owen Wright (AUS) 12.07
MEN’S ROUND 5 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1:Michel Bourez (PYF) vs. Chris Davidson (AUS)
Heat 2:Damien Hobgood (USA) vs. Matt Wilkinson (AUS)
Heat 3:Travis Logie (ZAF) vs. Owen Wright (AUS)
Heat 4:Jadson Andre (BRA) vs. Patrick Gudauskas (USA)
