QUIKSILVER PRO GOLD COAST 2011-ROUND 4 & 5
[09.03.2011]Surfers
Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast 2011, event, surfing, ASP World Tour, surfers, Round 4,5
TAJ EXPLODES TOWARDS TITLE DEFENCE
QUIKSILVER PRO 2011 - ROUND 4 & 5
VIEW UP-TO-DATE 2011 RESULTS
SNAPPER ROCKS, Queensland/Australia (Tuesday, March 8, 2011) – Australian Taj Burrow put on an electric performance today at the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast to clinch a place in the Quarter Finals and keep his title defence alive.
Burrow proved he is still the man to beat – coming out on top in an explosive back-and-forth clash with Brazilian Adriano de Souza. Incredibly, both surfs scored two 9-point rides each - making it one of the highest scoring heats in the history of the Quiksilver Pro
“I just wanted to get back in that heat,” Burrow said. “Adriano (de Souza) raised it by getting that 9 at the start and it made me hungry. It’s awesome when you dig deep and it goes your way at the end. I surfed my guts out and know judges like when you’re committed and I’m just glad they rewarded it.”
Earlier, Australian Matt Wilksinson (pictured) claimed the victory of his young career, getting the better of 10-time World Champion Kelly Slater as well as Tahiti’s Michel Bourez, in the second heat of Round 4 - a three-man non-elimination round that gives the winning surfers a shortcut to the quarter finals, while the losers must contest an additional Round 5 in order to advance to the finals.
“It was a really tough heat,” Wilkinson said. “The waves are really fat with the high tide. I got a first one and it had a good section and I fell off. There was only 20 seconds to go and Michel (Bourez) got what was I thought was the last wave and the next double up came off of the rock. I didn’t know if I was going to get it. I knew I only needed a small score and got a bit excited and had a little claim about halfway through the wave. This is my best result in a World Tour event. It’s a great way to start the year and I’m happy.”
Matt Wilkinson (AUS) on route to victory over Kelly Slater (USA) and Michel Bourez (PYF)
Slater bounced back in the opening heat of Round 5 - edging out Australian Adrian Buchan in a tight encounter. Slater left things pretty late – jagging the winning wave with just three minutes remaining on the clock.
“I feel a little better,” Slater said. “I just felt a little weak and off of my game today. I didn’t sleep great and ate late last night. I didn’t get enough sleep and felt a little shaky and off tune. I went home and rested and tried to hit the reset button before the second heat. I don’t feel like I’ve kicked it into high gear just yet, so it’s nice to make a heat feeling like you didn’t have it all in the tank.”
The final heat of the day saw last-minute heroics from South African Jordy Smith end the campaign of local favourite Joel Parkinson.
Parkinson appeared in control as he held the lead and priority in the final moments of the heat. However just went it all seemed over the big South African snared a winning wave from underneath Parkinson’s nose to steal victory and cap off a dramatic day of surfing at the Quiksilver Pro.
“I’m really stoked right now,” 23-year-old Smith said. “Finally something good came. I had a bummer of a morning and I was kind of down after losing my first heat. He (Parkinson) always beats me and I’ve looked up to him forever. I don’t know what to say, I’m rattled right now."
QUIKSILVER PRO GOLD COAST ROUND 4 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Dusty Payne (HAW) 14.07, Adrian Buchan (AUS) 11.83, Tiago Pires (PRT) 11.80
Heat 2: Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 13.53, Michel Bourez (PYF) 11.14, Kelly Slater (USA) 11.06
Heat 3: Brett Simpson (USA) 16.60, Adriano de Souza (BRA) 15.63, Jordy Smith (ZAF) 13.87
Heat 4: Alejo Muniz (BRA) 15.23, Joel Parkinson (AUS) 12.76, Taj Burrow (AUS) 11.56
QUIKSILVER PRO GOLD COAST ROUND 5 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Kelly Slater (USA) 15.80 def. Adrian Buchan (AUS) 15.60
Heat 2: Tiago Pires (PRT) 13.27 def. Michel Bouez (PYF) 12.94
Heat 3: Taj Burrow (AUS) 19.06 def. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 18.94
Heat 4: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 16.67 def. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 16.17
QUIKSILVER PRO GOLD COAST QUARTERFINAL MATCH-UPS:
QF 1: Dusty Payne (HAW) vs. Kelly Slater (USA)
QF 2: Matt Wilkinson (AUS) vs. Tiago Pires (PRT)
QF 3: Brett Simpson (USA) vs. Taj Burrow (AUS)
QF 4: Alejo Muniz (BRA) vs. Jordy Smith (ZAF)
Stay tuned to mesurf.com for all the coming action from the final day Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast
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