Kelly Slater wins ASP World Tour event in Brazil
Kelly Slater defeated Brazilian Adriano de Souza in the final round to win the Hang Loose Santa Catarina Pro in Brazil.
Surfing 3- to 4-foot waves, reigning and nine-time world champion Slater found his form mid-heat, scoring a 9.27 out of a possible 10 and then an 8.67 in the final minutes to claim his 41st ASP World Tour victory and catapult from No. 25 to No. 9 in the rankings.
“There were much better waves in the final than there were for my semifinal,” Slater said. “Adriano found a pretty good rhythm early on and posted some pretty good scores, but I felt comfortable out there and felt that the waves would come to me if I were patient.”
Brazilian fan favorite De Souza opened well in the final round with scores of 6.67 and an 8.00. Strong, but not enough to hold off Slater.
“I felt like I peaked in the final,” De Souza said. “I don’t think I could have surfed any better. I thought I had him [Slater], but he’s the nine-time world champ, and you have to be perfect to beat him.
Next stop on the 2009 ASP World Tour is the Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay in South Africa from July 9-19.
-- Kelly Burgess
Photo: Kelly Slater on his way to victory in the final round of the Hang Loose Santa Catarina Pro. Credit: Kelly Cestari / ASP
