Big Upsets at Keramas on Day 4 of the Quiksilver Open 2009

It was a day of upsets at the Quiksilver Open 2009 today at Keramas Beach, with four of the top seeded Coca-Cola Indonesian Surfing Championship surfers in the running for the 2009 title now out of the competition.

Dede Suryana, Raditya Rondi, Dedy Santoso, and front-runner Garut Widiarta are all out of the competition after failing to advance through Round 4 today. Lee Wilson is the only one of the top 5 to gain entrance into the quarterfinals that will be held tomorrow, and simply put, Lee must win his quarterfinal against Jake Patersonor Garut Widiarta will become the 2009 ISC Championby a mere 400 points!

Lee Wilson easily won his man-on-man Round 4 heat against Mustofa Jeksen, getting the highest combined heat score of day, 16 points, with first a 7.7 point wave and then an 8.5, comboing the unlucky Jeksen. Clearly focused, Lee has made no bones about the fact that he wants the 2009 trophy on his mantle in the off-season.

First to be eliminated this morning was 2008 ISC Champion Dede Suryana in Heat 7 of Round 3, finishing in last place while Tai Buddha Graham scored the highest wave score of the day, a 9 point barrel that drew hoots from the crowd. His broken toe sustained while surfing two weeks ago didnt seem to be a factor when riding in the barrel.

I dropped in kind of late but thought I had a chance, so was driving down the barrel when I saw it started to pinch, and I figured I was done. But then it opened back up for a bit and spit me out! I thought it was maybe a high 7 or an 8, so was stoked to hear the judges gave me a 9. It was great to win a heat, especially with an injured toe, said Graham back on the beach.

Marlon Gerber took second to Graham in the heat while Ketut Juliarta and Dede Suryana failed to advance.
Next to be taken out of the running was Raditya Rondi, who was matched up against Pepen Hendrik in the man-on-man Round 4. Hendrik is a Keramas virtuoso and racked up 15.50 points to Rondis 10.0 during the 25 minute heat.

The highlight of the day in terms of tension and excitement was the last minute and incredible elimination of Garut Widiarta by Tipi Jabrik in Heat 5 of Round 4. Widiarta got busy early and appeared to have the heat well in hand at the halfway mark with two decent scores of a 6 and a 5.5, all before Jabrik had event caught a wave. Finally Jabrik picked of a wave for a small score of 4.5, while Widiarta roamed the inside searching for a good scoring opportunity, but wasnt able to get anything to top his first two waves.

When it looked like he would get through easily as the ocean had been quiet for some time, at less than a minute left in the heat Jabrik spied a set a rare set wave that he pulled into and out of for an 8 point barrel and the heat win.

I was pretty confident at first, waiting on the outside because I knew there would be a set eventually, but I kept hearing the boys on the beach cheering every time Garut got a wave. He had a handful of waves before I even got one, so I was getting a bit nervous. I just kept looking out there hoping to see that set wave, and finally in the last minute one popped up. I dropped in and just went for it. When I came out if it I knew I would get a good score, so I claimed it a bit, Jabrik said with a laugh. I guess now I made it very interesting for Lee and Garut, he added.

Last to fall was Dedy Santoso, who though he surfed very aggressively and well, could not get the better of style-master Marlon Gerber, who waited patiently and picked off the best scoring waves to rack up 13 points to Santosos 11.4 and advance into the quarterfinals.
Wave conditions were solid in the early running with solid 4-5 foot sets rolling through as the action got started at 7 am. As the morning progressed the swell size dropped slightly and the set waves became less consistent, though the wind did not play a factor, so with the tide running out and Round 4 completed the competition was stopped for the day at 11:40 am.

Tomorrow will see both the completion of the Quiksilver Open 2009 as well as the crowning of the Coca-Cola Indonesian Surfing Open Champion of 2009, so get down to Keramas Beach to witness this historic event, starting at approximately 8:00 am.

Quarterfinal Matchups:
Qtr 1: Lee Wilson vs Jake Paterson
Qtr 2: Pepen Hendrix vs Made Adi Putra
Qtr 3: Tipi Jabrik vs Devis Ratif
Qtr 4: Marlon Gerber vs Tai Graham

The Quiksilver Open and Roxy Open are proudly sponsored by Quiksilver Indonesia, Jim Beam, Air Asia, the Hard Rock Hotel, The Hard Rock Caf, Heineken, Coke Zero, and media sponsors FHM, TRAX, Mens Fitness, Area, Juice, TV ONE, Rolling Stone, SurfTime, and Magic Wave

Links:

The Quiksilver Open and Roxy Open are sanctioned by the Coca-Cola Indonesian Surfing Championship Tour. For more info, see www.quiksilver.com and www.isctour.com