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Five Must-Watch Heats When The Rip Curl Rottnest Search Resumes
Jake Howard
After firing through the opening two days of the waiting period in classic, overhead, offshore conditions, the Rip Curl Rottnest Search presented by Corona has gone on hold for the moment until more swell shows up later this week. This quick break in the action has given us the time to dive into the upcoming matchups and froth out a little. WSL Leaderboard frontrunners Gabriel Medina and Carissa Moore set the pace on opening day, and while they're sure to have their hands full with the local wildcard talent they're facing, there are other heats that feature some intriguing duels. Here are five heats that have us pumped for the comp to start again:
Rip Curl Rottnest Search Women's Round of 16 Key Matchups:
HEAT 4: Tyler Wright (AUS) vs. Sage Erickson (USA)
Sage Erickson has never won a Championship Tour heat against Tyler Wright, who's dominated their heats with a perfect 8-0 record. But that could change at Strickland Bay. The setup is ideal for Erickson's Central California sensibilities as evidence by her great showing in the Seeding Round in which her heat. Wright, who's struggled with injury and inconsistency this season, also won her heat, but Erickson's heat total was over three points higher. Can Erickson finally crack the Wright code? We'll see.
HEAT 6: Isabella Nichols (AUS) vs. Bronte Macaulay (AUS)
Featuring two of Australia's brightest prospects for the next generation, Isabella Nichols and Bronte Macaulay are no stranger to one another after coming up in the Aussie junior ranks. They just met in the three-person Elimination Round with Nichols taking the heat by less than 0.25 of a point, but they've never had a head-to-head heat against one another on the Championship Tour. Both surfers have shown moments of brilliance this season, so expect them to bring their best when they paddle out.
Rip Curl Rottnest Search Men's Round of 32 Key Matchups:
HEAT 12: Griffin Colapinto (USA) vs. Mikey Wright (AUS)
This heat's guaranteed to have some fireworks. Griffin Colapinto's surfing has found another gear recently as he vies for a spot in the Final 5 and eventual Rip Curl WSL Finals, while Mikey Wright is coming off of his first heat win in the Seeding Round all season -- where he beat Colapinto and his older brother Owen Wright. Colapinto's success will hinge on his ability to go big with critical airs and turns. Wright will need to focus on completing his rides and minimizing some of the careless mistakes that have hampered him this season.
HEAT 13: Italo Ferreira (BRA) vs. Jacob Willcox (AUS)
Don't discount Jacob Willcox, he's a proven giant slayer. He beat Italo Ferreira in the Seeding Round at Margaret River a couple weeks back. He also beat Medina at Margs in 2017. And while he's just a wildcard, Willcox has experience going deep in events, making the Quarters of the 2019 Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach. Ferreira always paddles out ready to perform, but Willcox has the ability to capitalize on any complacency.
HEAT 15: Yago Dora (BRA) vs. Jack Freestone (AUS)
A replay of the 2018 Red Bull Airborne Final in France, Yago Dora ended up taking the win over Jack Freestone. Of course, Freestone got an Airborne win of his own in Bali the following year. Needless to say, don't expect this heat to be a three-to-the-beach affair. The boys are going to figure out the wind, take the the sky, and whoever stomps their landings will live to surf another day.
Italo Ferreira
Featuring John John Florence, Jack Robinson, Kolohe Andino, Filipe Toledo, Stephanie Gilmore, Ryan Callinan, Jeremy Flores, Italo Ferreira,
The current World No. 1 Italo Ferreira is back at the venue that marked his first-ever CT win and in dominant form with an excellent 8.50.
Featuring Italo Ferreira, Filipe Toledo, Leonardo Fioravanti, Sawyer Lindblad, Caitlin Simmers, George Pittar, Jack Robinson, Jordy Smith,
A battle of the backhands unfolded between World No. 1 Italo Ferreira and Morocco's hammer Ramzi Boukhiam. Ferreira's massive, full
World No. 1 Italo Ferreira ends local wildcard Bryan Perez spirited run with a fury of backhand snaps and aerial antics.
Rip Curl Rottnest Search presented by Corona
The crew takes us back to the last event of the Australian Leg for some Rottnest throwback and a special strike mission to Kirra.
Gabriel Medina and Sally Fitzgibbons dominant on Finals Day at Strickland Bay and there are some new names giving chase as the race for
The WSL Photo Dept. offers up some candid moments picked from their thousands of images shot during the four-stop Australian leg of the CT.
Gabriel Medina and Carissa Moore continue to dominate the top spots on the WSL Leaderboard, but there was plenty of movement after Rottnest.
Gabriel Medina and Carissa Moore may have a comfortable rankings lead, but the race for the Final 5 continues to tighten.