Italo Ferreira’s very first wave in the MEO Rip Curl Pro Portugal was a perfect 10. Watching it back, it is almost unbelievable — it was one of those waves that screamed perfect 10. His competitor in the final, Jordy Smith, started off relatively quickly. Before Ferreria had a wave under his belt, Smith had two. Granted, they were a 6.27 and a 1.27, but they were scores on the board nonetheless.
After Ferreira’s first wave, Smith gave it his best shot. He hucked a few flyaway airs into the wind. The pressure was too much, though, and he couldn’t recover. The win puts Ferreira at the top of the leaderboard. With Medina’s early exit due to interference, the title race is well and truly wide open heading into Pipeline, which, for the competitive surf fan, is just the way things should be.
