Smith Pulls Ahead
Sunday 17 September 2017 Jordy Smith had to defer to Mother Nature when he lost to Filipe Toledo in the Hurley Pro at Trestles, but increased his lead at the top of the leaderboard with three events to go.
POCKET ROCKET: Toledo got two good scores as opposed to Jordy's one. Photo WSL / Rowland
In a wave-starved final, Smith’s strategy of waiting for the bigger waves helped him to the highest score of the 35 minute encounter, a 9, but he couldn't find a second wave to overcome Toledo's 8.0 and 7.67. The Brazilian's title at Trestles makes him the first male CT surfer to win two events this year.
“I would’ve liked to get a couple more waves in that heat, but today wasn’t my day, unfortunately, and Filipe [Toledo] just surfed really well,” Smith said. “I went out there with a strategy and executed it pretty much as perfectly as I could. But in surfing there are some things you can’t control and that’s Mother Nature. In that 35-minutes I just didn’t get a second chance.
“Now I’ll just try to focus on the next event and live every moment for what it is and what’s to come. It’s time to get ready for Europe where it’s very happy-go-lucky and I like roaming those lineups and just being there.”
PROUDLY SA: Jordy increases his lead slightly over John John. Photo WSL / Rowland
Smith, who came into the event ranked No. 1, 950 points ahead of 2016 World Champion John John Florence (HAW), earned US $50,000 (approx R650,000) and 8,000 points at Trestles. The Durbanite is now 2,450 points ahead of Florence, who remains rankings runner-up following his defeat by Toledo in the semi-finals, and 8,650 points above No. 3 Julian Wilson (AUS).
Toledo put on spectacular performances for the San Clemente crowd with his powerful turns and big airs throughout the event. “I always get stopped in the semis and beating Jordy [Smith], the one who beat me last time, is an incredible feeling. I am so excited to win with my friends and family all here.”
The Swatch Pro Trestles, Stop No. 7 of 10 on the 2017 Women’s CT, saw a dominant performance from Silvana Lima (BRA), who claimed a massive win over Keely Andrew (AUS) by putting her in a combination situation with nearly half the heat remaining. Lima showcased her formidable forehand attack throughout the week and earned two more excellent scores in the final, an 8.67 and 8.93. Andrew did her best to fight back, but despite having posted a string of eight and nine point rides earlier in the event, she couldn’t find a score greater than a 6.00 in the final.
BRAZILIAN DUO: Lima and Toledo celebrate their victories at Lower Trestles. Photo WSL / Morris
“I still can’t believe I won over here,” Lima said. “All I could think about after the last event was coming here to Lowers. It’s my favorite wave on tour because I can surf how I like, do turns how I like and I just had to keep going. Heading into that final it took me back to my last final at Bells (in 2010) and I just wanted to smash it. When it came down to the last five minutes having Keely [Andrew] in a combination, I realized I won and couldn’t believe it.”
The next event on the 2017 WSL Women’s CT will be the Cascais Women’s Pro, which will see the world’s best female surfers head to Portugal from September 27 to October 5, 2017.
The next CT event for Men is the Quiksilver Pro France on the Bay of Biscay coast from October 7 to 18. Highlights from the Hurley Pro and Swatch Pro events at Trestles can be found at www.WorldSurfLeague.com .
LIMA BEEN: Silvana Lima was on fire in the final, and could not be stopped. Photo WSL / Rowland
Hurley Pro Final
H1 - Filipe Toledo (BRA) 15.67
2 - Jordy Smith (ZAF) 9.80
Hurley Pro Semifinal
SF 1: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 14.33 def. Adrian Buchan (AUS) 10.17
SF 2: Filipe Toledo (BRA) 14.90 def. John John Florence (HAW) 12.66
Hurley Pro Remaining Quarterfinal
QF 3: John John Florence (HAW) 14.84 def. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 13.80
QF 4: Filipe Toledo (BRA) 15.26 def. Kanoa Igarashi (USA) 11.10
Swatch Pro Final
1 - Silvana Lima (BRA) 17.60
2 - Keely Andrew (AUS) 10.93
Swatch Pro Semifinal
SF 1: Silvana Lima (BRA) 16.90 def. Lakey Peterson (USA) 15.60
SF 2: Keely Andrew (AUS) 13.43 def. Courtney Conlogue (USA) 13.17
WSL Men’s Jeep Leaderboard (After Hurley Pro at Trestles)
1 - Jordy Smith (ZAF) 45,850 pts
2 - John John Florence (HAW) 43,400 pts
3 - Julian Wilson (AUS) 37,200 pts
4 - Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 36,450 pts
5 - Owen Wright (AUS) 35,850 pts
WSL Women’s Jeep Leaderboard (After Swatch Pro at Trestles)
1 - Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 45,100 pts
2 - Courtney Conlogue (USA) 44,800 pts
3 - Tyler Wright (AUS) 44,700 pts
4 - Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 39,950 pts
5 - Sage Erickson (USA) 37,150 pts