Surfing-Dora, Marks claim wins in tricky Portugal surf

March 24 (Reuters) - High-flying Brazilian Yago Dora overcame compatriot Italo Ferreira and some tricky conditions to win the World Surf League Rip Curl Pro in Portugal on Sunday, while Olympic champion Caroline Marks won out over Gabriel Bryan on the women's side.

Dora's second win on the world championship tour came at the end of a gruelling day, with surfers and organisers battling strong winds, powerful currents and solid if unpredictable waves at Supertubos, near the fishing town of Peniche.

Dora had to surf through four heats on finals day, showcasing his stamina and concentration as well as his all-round surfing skills.

The 28-year-old mixed strong turns, tube rides and, most importantly, his mastery of high-risk aerial manoeuvres to topple Australian's Jack Robinson in the quarter-final and Ethan Ewing in the semi-final.

"Last season, I had two finals and it felt like I was the in-form surfer of the event, but I ended up falling short in the end," Dora said as he came up against 2019 world champion and current ratings leader Ferreira.

"I wasn't going to let this one get away, I wanted to win this one so bad."

Both men took to the air repeatedly in the final and while Ferreira got the highest single score, a 7.43 out of 10 for a tricky spin, Dora's consistency and technical combinations saw him get the nod with a two-wave total of 13.37 out of 20 to Ferreira's 12.43.

In the women's final, Hawaiian Bryan got off to a decent start, scoring a 4.17 with her powerful forehand that had seen her take down Canadian super-grom Erin Brooks in the semi-final.

But it was American Marks who took the lead with two back-to-back mid-range scores before conditions deteriorated, leaving both surfers struggling to find the right wave.

"It wasn't the prettiest final, but we'll take it," Marks, 23, said after her two wave total of 7.90 out of 20 was enough to top Bryan's 6.97.

"It was really challenging, but winning feels so good, I’m so pumped," the 2023 world champion added.

"The last couple of years, it felt like I was building momentum in the second half of the season, so to start off with a win and just be really consistent to be in the finals day for every event so far has felt really good."

The win lifted Marks to number three in the rankings, while Dora jumped 11 spots to fourth.

The tour next heads to El Salvador for event number four on the 11-stop tour, before the one-day finals event for the top five surfers takes place in Fiji in August.