{"id":16975,"date":"2010-07-18T05:06:42","date_gmt":"2010-07-18T12:06:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/?p=16975"},"modified":"2010-09-21T18:16:48","modified_gmt":"2010-09-22T01:16:48","slug":"jordy-smith-takes-j-bay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/?p=16975","title":{"rendered":"Jordy Smith Takes J-Bay"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script src=\"http:\/\/player.ooyala.com\/player.js?embedCode=V5dWdrMToUrhdf3eKi8nzSVxtT1H5WPE&#038;height=290&#038;width=450&#038;deepLinkEmbedCode=V5dWdrMToUrhdf3eKi8nzSVxtT1H5WPE\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>After four long days of solid surfing  The <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.billabongpro.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">2010 Billabong Pro J-Bay<\/a><\/strong> is over. South African<strong> Jordy Smith<\/strong>, 22, has claimbed his first ASP Elite tour event at home and placed himself firmly in the lead of the ASP World Title points race.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>This is the best day of my life,\u201d Smith said. \u201cThe crowd on the beach has been supporting me the last few days and hearing the cheers and the Vuvuzelas just gets me fired up to perform. It feels like they\u2019re pushing me along. I couldn\u2019t have done it without them.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>For surf fans who waited two-and-a-half months without any Elite Tour action it was over much too quickly. So quickly that we seemly missed half of it (including the final). Thankfully, there are <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.billabongpro.com\/jbay10\/videos\/category\/heats_on_demand\/\" target=\"_blank\">heats-on-demand<\/a><\/strong>. <\/p>\n<p>For all the final day&#8217;s details follow the jump for the official ASP release.<!--more-->JEFFREYS BAY, South Africa (Sunday, July 18, 2010) \u2013 Jordy Smith (ZAF), 22, has claimed his maiden ASP elite victory, taking out the Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay over Adam Melling (AUS), 25, in front of a capacity hometown crowd.<\/p>\n<p>Event No. 4 of 10 on the 2010 ASP World Tour, the Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay was nothing but blaring Vuvuzelas and roars from the bluff as these two titans went tit-for-tat in an incredible Final exchange. The young South African proved the victor, dominating from the outset and securing an emotional first win.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is the best day of my life,\u201d Smith said. \u201cThe crowd on the beach has been supporting me the last few days and hearing the cheers and the Vuvuzelas just gets me fired up to perform. It feels like they\u2019re pushing me along. I couldn\u2019t have done it without them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The most experienced surfer at Jeffreys Bay, Smith left very little to chance in the Final against Melling, opening his account with a blazing 8.90 before backing it up with some scintillating forehand surfing for a 9.03. The combination of scores (17.93 out of a possible 20) proved insurmountable for Melling.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI knew the swell was dying and I had to take advantage of every wave that came through,\u201d Smith said. \u201cAdam (Melling) is such a dangerous surfer. He\u2019s been in form all day and I knew that if he got the waves, he would get the scores. I went out there knowing I had to open up strong.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After taking the ratings\u2019 lead over former nine-time ASP World Champion Kelly Slater (USA), 38, yesterday, Smith solidified his position as the ASP World No. 1 with today\u2019s emphatic victory.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt definitely is a different feeling,\u201d Smith said. \u201cTo be chasing the lead and defending the lead are two different things. It\u2019s a long year ahead and you can\u2019t count anyone out until it\u2019s over. I\u2019m going to enjoy this feeling for now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Smith\u2019s Final\u2019s berth almost never was, as the big South African was comboed by lethal Australian Bede Durbidge (AUS), 27, with four minutes remaining in their Semifinal clash. Catching two waves in under a minute, Smith unloaded a barrage of aerials and forehand blasts to claw his way back into the lead.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m still not too sure what happened \u2013 it\u2019s all a blur,\u201d Smith said. \u201cI got that first one where I did the little grab air that I didn\u2019t think was good, but the judges scored the whole wave pretty well. Then I backed it up and put everything I had into it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Melling\u2019s \u201cCinderella\u201d climb to the Finals was nothing short of sensational. Rated a lowly 41st on the ASP World Title Race rankings heading into Jeffreys Bay, the 2010 ASP Dream Tour rookie powered his way through five rounds of competition before coming short in the Final. His Runner-Up finish sees him bumped up to ASP World No. 19, well inside the safety zone for the dreaded mid-year field reduction.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe ocean didn\u2019t cooperate with me in the Final so that\u2019s a shame but I couldn\u2019t be happier,\u201d Melling said. \u201cWe had amazing waves and to get the best result of my career is huge. I came into Jeffreys with a long road ahead if I were to make the mid-year cut-off, and now that I\u2019m 19th, I feel like I have a bit of a buffer heading into Tahiti. I worked really hard to get here and I want to stay here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Durbidge suffered one of the hardest losses of the event, having defeat snatched from the jaws of victory by a last-minute crusade by Smith. Despite the bitter loss, Durbidge\u2019s Equal 3rd vaults him from 10th to 7th on the ASP World Title Race rankings heading into the fifth event of the year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had him comboed with only four minutes to go,\u201d Durbidge said. \u201cHe took off on that one-footer and pulled that \u2018Superman\u2019 air and finished off well, then came out and got another one. I think he got two waves in a minute or something. It\u2019s a hard way to lose, but Semifinals is my best result of the year and it\u2019s something to build on. The focus is on Tahiti now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Taj Burrow (AUS), 32, consistently wowed audiences with his performance from Round 1 onwards, collecting the event\u2019s highest heat total in yesterday\u2019s Round 4. Despite today\u2019s Semifinal loss at the hands of Melling, the Western Australian moves up to ASP World No. 2 heading into Tahiti.<\/p>\n<p>Highlights from the Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay will be available via http:\/\/www.billabongpro.com\/jbay10\/<\/p>\n<p>The event will be broadcast LIVE on FUEL TV in Australia.<\/p>\n<p>Official forecasts for the Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay brought to you by Surfline.<\/p>\n<p>The next stop on the 2010 ASP World Tour is the Billabong Pro Tahiti from August 23 through September 3, 2010.<\/p>\n<p>For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com<\/p>\n<p>Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Final Results:<br \/>\n1 \u2013 Jordy Smith (ZAF) 17.93<br \/>\n2 \u2013 Adam Melling (AUS) 10.00<\/p>\n<p>Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Semifinal Results:<br \/>\nSF 1: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 14.83 def. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 14.40<br \/>\nSF 2: Adam Melling (AUS) 14.00 def. Taj Burrow (AUS) 10.67<\/p>\n<p>Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Quarterfinal Results:<br \/>\nQF 1: Jordy Smith (ZAF) 16.43 def. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 9.20<br \/>\nQF 2: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 12.17 def. Sean Holmes (ZAF) 11.83<br \/>\nQF 3: Taj Burrow (AUS) 11.00 def. Dane Reynolds (USA) 3.66<br \/>\nQF 4: Adam Melling (AUS) 16.43 def. Damien Hobgood (USA) 5.67<\/p>\n<p>Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay Remaining Round 4 Results:<br \/>\nHeat 8: Adam Melling (AUS) 17.07 def. Dusty Payne (HAW) 11.50<\/p>\n<p>Current ASP World Title Race Top 5 (after South Africa):<br \/>\n1. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 28500 pts<br \/>\n2. Taj Burrow (AUS) 24750 pts<br \/>\n3. Kelly Slater (USA) 23500 pts<br \/>\n4. Dane Reynolds (USA) 20000 pts<br \/>\n5. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 19500 pts<br \/>\n6. Mick Fanning (AUS) 19250 pts<br \/>\n7. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 18750 pts<br \/>\n8. Bobby Martinez (USA) 16500 pts<br \/>\n9. Jadson Andre (BRA) 16000 pts<br \/>\n10. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 14750 pts<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After four long days of solid surfing The 2010 Billabong Pro J-Bay is over. South African Jordy Smith, 22, has claimbed his first ASP Elite tour event at home and placed himself firmly in the lead of the ASP World Title points race. This is the best day of my life,\u201d Smith said. \u201cThe crowd [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,28],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16975"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16975"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16975\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18142,"href":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16975\/revisions\/18142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}