Bells surprises

Alex de Vos
Like the biblical sands, Bells Beach has been the scene where David has triumphed over Goliath.
On more than one occasion, the top seeds and crowd favourites have been eliminated early at the 2009 Rip Curl Pro.
On Tuesday, Australian wildcard Owen Wright defeated last year’s Rip Curl Pro winner and nine-time Association of Australian Professionals world champion Kelly Slater.
The 19-year-old junior NSW surfer described the win as a “big confidence booster”.
“It’s definitely the biggest achievement of my life,” Wright told the Independent.
“But it doesn’t mean I’m the best surfer – he’s the nine-time world champ, he could have done it with his eyes closed. He just didn’t have the right waves.”
In round three of the competition, Wright faced South African surfer Jordy Smith.
The fairytale upset was complete for the competitor from Lennox Head, on the north coast of NSW.
While Slater jets around the world, Wright rolls to competitions in a humble family bus.
In another upset, Jan Juc surfer Adam Robertson trumped last year’s Rip Curl Pro runner-up Bede Durbridge.
When Durbridge fell off his final wave in the dying seconds of round two, Roberston acknowledged that he had defeated the world’s number five ranked surfer.
“When that happened I knew I had won the heat,” the 26-year-old told the Independent.
“It felt really good and I’m really happy.
“Anytime I can get over a guy like Bede is a great effort.”
Robertson, who grew up surfing in Cape Bridgewater near Portland, said he was feeling confident about facing Sydney’s Tom Whitaker in the third round of the competition.
“Tom’s a great surfer, but I’m just going to go hard out there and give it my best and hopefully that’s enough,” he said.
On Tuesday competitors enjoyed light offshore wind and solid swell, however event organisers were forced to suspend competition on Wednesday amid heavy wind and rain.
Robertson said he would spend the “lay day” catching up with friends and family.
“I might have a stand-up paddle with my dad or go for a surf with my cousin,” he said.
In the women’s competition, Brazilian Silvana Lima defeated reigning champion Stephanie Gilmore in the final.