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Slater Axed by Gudauskas at the Hurley Pro at Trestles

San Clemente local Patrick Gudauskas defeated 11-time World Surfing Champion Kelly Slater in a massive upset Tuesday at the Hurley Pro at Trestles.

Originally published 8 a.m. Sept. 18.

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, a a San Clemente resident and ASP WCT alternate, pulled off a massive upset, eliminating 11-time ASP World Champion and defending event champion Kelly Slater (USA). 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.”

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Gudauskas continued to dominate his local lineup, besting Kai Otton of Australia and Adriano de Souza of Brazil in Round 4 to advance directly to the quarterfinals.

Kelly Slater entered the Hurley Pro at Trestles in the No. 1 position while hunting a 12th ASP World Title and 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.

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“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 Champion Mick Fanning of Australia took out a crucial heat victory over Alejo Muniz of Brazil, temporarily sliding Fanning to No. 1 over Slater on the rankings.

“I was really nervous knowing the significance of that happening [Slater'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 of Australia would contribute to the day’s upsets, defeating reigning ASP World Champion Joel Parkinson of Australia. 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 toward his 2014 qualification 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 of Australia got the best of an action packed heat against Filipe Toledo of Brazil 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 Sept. 15-21 and is webcast live via www.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)

Source: Hurley Pro
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