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May 4, 2002 Melanie Redman-Carr defeated South Africa's Heather Clark to win the $60,000 Roxy Pro Fiji and move into equal first on the current ASP ratings. Surf at Tavarua's 'Cloudbreak' was 6 feet and perfectly offshore early, but strong crosswinds and rainsqualls moved in. After round three finished, organizers were forced to place the event on hold for over an hour, and even once it recommenced, only those persons needed either on the judges' tower or out on the marshalling ferry, left the sanctuary of their Island resorts. Still, waves on the inside section of the reef were contestable; it was just a matter of battling the wind and currents to catch them. Redman-Carr, 26, was destined to win from day one when she set the pace with the highest total of the round. Having finished runner-up in last year's final, and then only last week winning a World Qualifying Series (WQS) event at her home break in Western Australia, she continued the charge, claiming her first WCT victory since 1999 (Jeffrey's Bay, SAfr). Against close friend and traveling partner Clark, she dominated the 35-minute final to earn US$10,000 prizemoney. "Yeah, I haven't won for ages, I always get second," Redman-Carr told the ASP's Jesse Faen. "It's going to be so tight this year. Nearly everyone who went bad last contest was in the top half of the ratings this contest. It just goes to show how talented everyone is. It's definitely the most solid year since I've been on tour." Finishing equal third today were Serena Brooke and Rochelle Ballard. Brooke, 26, who was narrowly beaten by Redman-Carr in their semifinal, actually secured the same result in last year's Roxy Pro Fiji. Despite only requiring a low score to advance, she was unaware of the points' difference and had injured her ankle attempting a critical floater during the match. "It was a pretty hard heat and I actually couldn't hear any of my scores," she told Faen. "I had two waves at the start, but I didn't catch anything afterward. I caught one little wave at the end for a 3.0, but I wish I knew I only needed a 3.71 for the last six minutes. That's just the way it is with conditions like this." Equal fifth in the Roxy Pro Fiji were Kate Skarratt, wildcard Sofia Mulanovich, Beachley, and Maria 'Tita' Tavares. Beachley, 29, was comforted by long-term boyfriend/big wave legend Ken Bradshaw (Haw) after her loss to Ballard. The Australian improved on her first result of the year, but was still far from happy with her overall finish, needing a lofty 9.01-points after she failed to post any decent scores. "It was incredibly disappointing," said Beachley. "I just went out there and tried too hard. I fell off nearly every wave I caught, which world champions aren't supposed to do. I put too much pressure on myself. "Believe it or not, the last time I won a contest was Teahupoo last year," she added, of next week's WCT in Tahiti. "It's been a year from being in the winner's circle, which is a lot longer than what I'm used to. I'm looking forward to getting back to Tahiti for sure. Hopefully we get some swell and we'll see what happens." -- Jesse Faen/ASP Official results of the 2002 Roxy Pro Fiji 1st Melanie Redman-Carr (Aus) 17.25 - US$10,000 2nd Heather Clark (SAfr) 10.5 - US$6,000 Semifinals (loser finishes =3rd and receives US$4,000) SF1: Melanie Redman-Carr (Aus) 13.85 def. Serena Brooke (Aus) 13.15 SF2: Heather Clark (SAfr) 17.50 def. Rochelle Ballard (Haw) 14.15 Quarterfinals (Loser finishes =5th and receives US$3,000) QF1: Melanie Redman-Carr (Aus) 14.5 def. Kate Skarratt (Aus) 7.65 QF2: Serena Brooke (Aus) 18.65 def. Sofia Mulanovich (Peru) 14.85 QF3: Rochelle Ballard (Haw) 17.75 def. Layne Beachley (Aus) 11.75 QF4: Heather Clark (SAfr) 15.0 def Maria Tavares (Brz) 8.9 Round three (Loser finishes =9th and receives US$2,500) H6: Rochelle Ballard (Haw) 16.5 def. Lisa Andersen (USA) 15.5 H7: Heather Clark (SAfr) 26.0 def. Chelsea Georgeson (Aus) 12.85 H8: Maria Tavares (Brz) 15.6 def. Jacqueline Silva (Brz) 11.3 Current ASP ratings after Roxy Pro Fiji =1st Melanie Redman-Carr (Aus), Lynette MacKenzie (Aus)-1,300-points =3rd Heather Clark (SAfr), Jacqueline Silva (Brz)-1,110 5th Kate Skarratt (Aus)-1,090 =6th Chelsea Georgeson (Aus), Rochelle Ballard (Haw), Serena Brooke (Aus)-930 =9th Lisa Andersen (USA), Samantha Cornish (Aus), Layne Beachley (Aus)-760 12th Maria Tavares (Brz)-610 13th Megan Abubo (Haw)-600 =14th Neridah Falconer (Aus), Pauline Menczer (Aus), Amee Donohoe (Aus), Keala Kennelly (Haw)-450  |
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