On Thursday, 13 of August, the potiguar Ítalo Ferreira shone at the Teahupo'o stage in Tahiti, and secured a spot in the World Surf League (WSL) semifinals. The victory over Australian Ethan Ewing reinforced his position as world ranking leader and highlighted the strength of Brazilian surfing on the international scene.
During the men's second heat, Ítalo caught quality waves that earned him scores of 8,33 and 7,17, totaling 15,50 points. Ethan Ewing, for his part, obtained 7,77 and 5,17, totaling 12,94 points. The difference of nearly three points was decisive for the classification.
The conquest follows the Brazilian's return to the ranking lead, which rose from second to first after the early elimination of Italian Leonardo Fioravanti. Ítalo had already won the heat against Luke Thompson in the eighth round and, subsequently, defeated Connor O’Leary, securing a spot in the quarterfinals.
In the semifinals, which will take place on Thursday night, Ítalo will face Hawaiian Seth Moniz, who defeated Alan Cleland in the last heat. Moniz scored 7,83 and 5,83 points, while Cleland had only 1,50. The final semifinal result will be announced at the end of the night.
Brazil began the Tahiti stage with nine surfers, but only Ítalo remained in the competition. Other athletes, such as Samuel Pupo, Yago Dora, Filipe Toledo, Gabriel Medina and Matheus Herdy, were eliminated in the early rounds, as was the sole female representative, Luana Silva.
Ítalo Ferreira will return to the WSL wearing the yellow lycra at the next stage, in Cloudbreak, Fiji, starting on 4 of September. The performance in Teahupo'o reinforces the expectation that the Brazilian will continue to dominate the tubes and maintain the world ranking lead.
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