Slater Axed by Gudauskas at the Hurley Pro at Trestles

By Serge Dedina 

The 2013 Hurley Pro at Trestles, stop No. 7 of 10 on the ASP World Championship Tour (WCT), returned to competition for the third consecutive day on Tuesday, completing Rounds 3 and 4 of competition in clean one-to-three foot surf at Lower Trestles. 

There was no shortage of drama, with massive upsets and standout performances from the world’s best surfers.

Patrick Gudauskas (USA), 27, current ASP WCT alternate, a San Clemente resident,  issued a massive upset, eliminating 11-time ASP World Champion and defending event champion Kelly Slater (USA), 41. Gudauskas was incredibly patient with his wave selection and executed on both the lefts and rights of Lowers with an array of progressive maneuvers.

“I knew I had to play a smart game plan and I also just went for broke,” Gudauskas said. “To win that heat, I’m stoked because this result will really help my requalification chances.”

Gudauskas continued to dominate his local lineup, besting Kai Otton (AUS), 33, and Adriano de Souza (BRA), 26, in Round 4, advancing directly to the Quarterfinals.

Kelly Slater, who entered the Hurley Pro at Trestles in the No. 1 position while hunting a 12th ASP World Title, was gracious in defeat following his loss to Gudauskas, but admitted the Round 3 loss was a serious blow towards his ASP World Title campaign.

“I’m happy for Pat (Gudauskas),” Slater said. “He’s a great surfer and he’s been on the losing end of several close heats and it’s about time something went his way.”

Following the elimination of Slater, two-time ASP World ChampionMick Fanning (AUS), 32, took out a crucial heat victory over Alejo Muniz (BRA), 23, temporarily sliding Fanning to No. 1 over Slater on the rankings.

“I was really nervous knowing the significance of that happening (Kelly’s loss),” Fanning said. “You do the best you can and I had a great heat with Alejo (Muniz). He’s surfed amazing these last few months and it was nerve-wracking in that heat. Getting through this round, you get another three-man heat and it’s a good time to get re-adjusted and focus on what’s next.”

Adam Melling (AUS), 28, would contribute to the day’s upsets, defeating reigning ASP World Champion Joel Parkinson (AUS), 32. Wave choice proved to be crucial in their bout and Melling would unload the heat’s high wave score of 8.50 for a series of polished forehand turns to secure an important heat win towards his 2014 requalification campaign.

Melling was unable to win his Round 4 match and will take on Josh Kerr (AUS) 29, in Heat 4 of Round 5.

While there were several early exits from ASP WCT top seeds, day three of the Hurley Pro at Trestles saw some incredible high-performance battles from the rest of the ASP Top 34.Julian Wilson (AUS), 24, got the best of an action packed heat againstFilipe Toledo(BRA), 18, with the two delivering an exciting series of backhand aerial exchanges on the Lowers lefts. Wilson was in need of an excellent score in the dying minutes of the heat and launched a massive backhand rotation followed with a snap for a 9.10 and a Round 4 berth.

The Hurley Pro at Trestles holds a waiting period from September 15 through 21, 2013and is webcast LIVE viawww.thehurleypro.com

For additional ASP information log on to www.aspworldtour.com.

HURLEY PRO AT TRESTLES ROUND 3 RESULTS:

Heat 1: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 17.00 def. Brett Simpson (USA) 15.87

Heat 2: C.J. Hobgood (USA) 15.30 def. Gabriel Medina (BRA) 14.87

Heat 3: Taj Burrow (AUS) 16.20 def. Kolohe Andino (USA) 14.67

Heat 4: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 16.00 def. Fred Patacchia (HAW) 9.43

Heat 5: Kai Otton (AUS) 15.17 def. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 14.07

Heat 6: Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 15.57 def. Kelly Slater (USA) 14.80

Heat 7: Mick Fanning (AUS) 15.17 def. Alejo Muniz (BRA) 14.87

Heat 8: Michel Bourez (PYF) 13.94 def. Sebastian Zietz (HAW) 13.80

Heat 9: Josh Kerr (AUS) 14.67 def. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 11.93

Heat 10: Travis Logie (ZAF) 14.47 def. Nat Young (USA) 11.73

Heat 11: Julian Wilson (AUS) 17.03 def. Filipe Toledo (BRA) 16.07

Heat 12: Adam Melling (AUS) 14.67 def. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 10.06

HURLEY PRO AT TRESTLES ROUND 4 RESULTS:

Heat 1: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 15.60, C.J. Hobgood (USA) 15.33, Taj Burrow (AUS) 13.23

Heat 2: Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 15.23, Adriano de Souza (BRA) 13.40, Kai Otton (AUS) 13.03

Heat 3: Michel Bourez (PYF) 17.30, Mick Fanning (AUS) 16.80, Josh Kerr (AUS) 12.93

Heat 4: Julian Wilson (AUS) 19.07, Adam Melling (AUS) 14.03, Travis Logie (ZAF) 12.67 

UPCOMING HURLEY PRO AT TRESTLES ROUND 5 MATCH UPS:

Heat 1: C.J. Hobgood (USA) vs. Kai Otton (AUS)

Heat 2: Adriano de Souza (BRA) vs. Taj Burrow (AUS)

Heat 3: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Travis Logie (ZAF)

Heat 4: Adam Melling (AUS) vs. Josh Kerr (AUS)