Excellent waves show up for the morning of Day Two at the QS10,000 Ballito Pro pres. by Billabong.
The sunrise this morning revealed perfect, clean lines running off the southern rocks and setting the scene for an amazing second day at the Ballito Pro pres. by Billabong. Competition resumed early and offered three hours of great surfing before the high tide and easterly winds started affecting the lineup.
Duru - Backhand - Ballito - GOOOOD
CT Rookie Joan Duru was first to hit the water this morning and what a way to launch the day! He's a former finalist in Ballito and comes off his best result so far on the CT with a quarterfinal in Fiji. Joan picked up where he left off last year and absolutely ruled the lineup, annihilating the four foot glassy rights on his backhand, giving us a preview of what to expect next week down the coast in J-Bay.
David van Zyl finds a little cover and joins Michael February and Jordy Smith in Rd3. - WSL / Kelly Cestari
"I've been coming here for years and have had some good results so I'm happy to be back," he said. "When conditions are good like this it's such a fun wave, but you have to be prepared for anything cause it can change quite fast. I'm excited to go to J-Bay I have good boards and I just hope it pumps. All the guys surf so well there it's going to be a fun event."
Moniz Upsets Local Hero
Joshua Moniz is a threat in any conditions, but there's something about his surfing the long rights, remember his first QS win in Martinique? Today Josh managed to take an important Round Two win over his compatriot Ezekiel Lau, but more importantly local boy Beyrick De Vries, upsetting local fans who were expected big things from Beyrick.
There's no shortage of power in Josh's surfing. - WSL / Kelly Cestari
"I got in a good rhythm early and just went with it," he said. "I knew if I got a couple good scores early the other guys would start to battle a little so that's exactly what I did and luckily it worked out. I had a slow start this season but I felt like I was surfing good and I didn't really have some bad heats. I've been working a lot at home and doing a few trips, all in all just trying to have more fun that I have these past few years."
Smith Gets a Little Scare in Round 2
World No. 3 and South African superstar Jordy Smith came close to a shock elimination in his first heat. The onshore wind and combined high tide made reading the lineup super tricky, even for Jordy, who resorted to surf every moving little line of swell at Surfers.
Jordy's close call scared also a few fans on the beach. - WSL / Kelly Cestari
"I kind of struggled in the beginning, Koa and Ramzi both got good waves so it put me in a position of hunting," he said. "The more waves I caught the more opportunities I was going to get so I just looked for anything really. I grew up watching this event and I love coming down here, it's really exciting to come here with my friends and family."
The other part responsible for Smith's drama in Round Two was Morocco's Ramzi Boukhiam. Ramzi took a page out of Joan's book and destroyed the heat's bomb with two super critical backhand turns for an 8.50, the second highest single-wave score today.
The kind of commitment that pays off in big scores. - WSL / Kelly Cestari
"I had a gameplan with my coach and it worked out perfectly, the bomb came and Jordy was a little deep so I got it," he said. "It gave me confidence right away and then I just had to wait for another wave. I've been doing these events for a long time so I want a big result in one of those, Round of 48 won't cut it so I want to make a few more heats!"
Defending Champ Falls
Among a few very upsetting results for the top seeds today, Connor O'Leary's elimination in the last heat before the event went on hold, tops the list. Following Jordy's heat, conditions continued to deteriorate, as last year's winner was unable to find any decent waves.
In a super tight battle where all four surfers stood within a point and a half, Jacob Willcox and long-time threat Dion Atkinson got the job done while Connor watched his dream run of 2016 fade away.
Griffin Colapinto made the Round Three as well. - WSL / Kelly Cestari
Jadson Andre suffered the same tragedy earlier in the day, completely out of rhythm and watching helplessly while Vicente Romero and Diego Mignot walked away with the precious Round Three ticket.
After a two-hour hold, competition was finally called OFF for the rest of the day as reinforced onshore winds destroyed the little swell still on offer.
Find out more about all the results, check out photos and highlights right here!
High Drama at Ballito Pro QS10000
Nicolas Leroy
The sunrise this morning revealed perfect, clean lines running off the southern rocks and setting the scene for an amazing second day at the Ballito Pro pres. by Billabong. Competition resumed early and offered three hours of great surfing before the high tide and easterly winds started affecting the lineup.
Duru - Backhand - Ballito - GOOOOD
CT Rookie Joan Duru was first to hit the water this morning and what a way to launch the day! He's a former finalist in Ballito and comes off his best result so far on the CT with a quarterfinal in Fiji. Joan picked up where he left off last year and absolutely ruled the lineup, annihilating the four foot glassy rights on his backhand, giving us a preview of what to expect next week down the coast in J-Bay.
"I've been coming here for years and have had some good results so I'm happy to be back," he said. "When conditions are good like this it's such a fun wave, but you have to be prepared for anything cause it can change quite fast. I'm excited to go to J-Bay I have good boards and I just hope it pumps. All the guys surf so well there it's going to be a fun event."
Moniz Upsets Local Hero
Joshua Moniz is a threat in any conditions, but there's something about his surfing the long rights, remember his first QS win in Martinique? Today Josh managed to take an important Round Two win over his compatriot Ezekiel Lau, but more importantly local boy Beyrick De Vries, upsetting local fans who were expected big things from Beyrick.
"I got in a good rhythm early and just went with it," he said. "I knew if I got a couple good scores early the other guys would start to battle a little so that's exactly what I did and luckily it worked out. I had a slow start this season but I felt like I was surfing good and I didn't really have some bad heats. I've been working a lot at home and doing a few trips, all in all just trying to have more fun that I have these past few years."
Smith Gets a Little Scare in Round 2
World No. 3 and South African superstar Jordy Smith came close to a shock elimination in his first heat. The onshore wind and combined high tide made reading the lineup super tricky, even for Jordy, who resorted to surf every moving little line of swell at Surfers.
"I kind of struggled in the beginning, Koa and Ramzi both got good waves so it put me in a position of hunting," he said. "The more waves I caught the more opportunities I was going to get so I just looked for anything really. I grew up watching this event and I love coming down here, it's really exciting to come here with my friends and family."
The other part responsible for Smith's drama in Round Two was Morocco's Ramzi Boukhiam. Ramzi took a page out of Joan's book and destroyed the heat's bomb with two super critical backhand turns for an 8.50, the second highest single-wave score today.
"I had a gameplan with my coach and it worked out perfectly, the bomb came and Jordy was a little deep so I got it," he said. "It gave me confidence right away and then I just had to wait for another wave. I've been doing these events for a long time so I want a big result in one of those, Round of 48 won't cut it so I want to make a few more heats!"
Defending Champ Falls
Among a few very upsetting results for the top seeds today, Connor O'Leary's elimination in the last heat before the event went on hold, tops the list. Following Jordy's heat, conditions continued to deteriorate, as last year's winner was unable to find any decent waves.
In a super tight battle where all four surfers stood within a point and a half, Jacob Willcox and long-time threat Dion Atkinson got the job done while Connor watched his dream run of 2016 fade away.
Jadson Andre suffered the same tragedy earlier in the day, completely out of rhythm and watching helplessly while Vicente Romero and Diego Mignot walked away with the precious Round Three ticket.
After a two-hour hold, competition was finally called OFF for the rest of the day as reinforced onshore winds destroyed the little swell still on offer.
Find out more about all the results, check out photos and highlights right here!
Jordy Smith
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