*Pictured above: Leticia Canales celebrates her place in the semis. All photos: WSL/Poullenot

What would the Basque Country be without its storms? The fourth day of the Pro Zarautz presented by Oakley started today, Saturday, with a hangover sea after a night of storms, offering a scenario with waves of great potential but difficult to read.

At 8am this Saturday, the men's round 5 entered the water and it seems that the weekend suited the youngsters better, because after a fierce fight, the heavyweights Hodei Collazo, Gony Zubizarreta, Aritz Aranburu and Nic Von Rupp fell into the hands of the less experienced but hungrier Jorgann Couzinet (FRA), Vicente Romero (ESP), Rafel Teixeira (BRA) and Luis Díaz (ESP)..

The youngsters continued to shine and in a tight heat with just a few hundredths of a second difference between the scores of the four competitors, the Argentine Nacho Gundensen and the local Imanol Yeregui left Aritz Aranburu and Nic Von Rupp out.

When it was the girls' turn, a very energetic Pauline Ado (FRA) knocked out Carol Henrique (POR) with the best wave of the women (8,77), thus truncating the defending champion's hopes of repeating.

In the third quarter-final heat, the surfers who have demonstrated the most electric surfing of the event, Teresa Bonvalot and the Basque Leticia Canales, faced each other. Leticia opted for a conservative strategy, starting with a good first wave of 7,33 and choosing well, looking for a good second score. Teresa surfed well and remained active until the end of the heat, but it was not enough.

Another local, Garazi Sánchez, continued to rely on her powerful surfing and also advanced convincingly to the semi-finals.

With the women's semi-finals decided, it was the men's turn and the beach knew that a spectacle was guaranteed. Frenchman Jorgann Couzinet scored the best wave of the day with a 9, thus finishing off the excellent performance of Luis Diaz (ESP).

Vicente Romero (ESP) faced Brazilian Rafael Teixeira and made it to the semi-finals with the last wave of the heat.

Argentine Nacho Gundensen entered the water with great concentration and, keeping a cool head, waited more than half of the heat for his first wave. His opponent Tristan Guilbaud (FRA) felt comfortable with a total of 14,66 points, but if there is one thing that the current ISA junior world champion knows how to do, it is compete.

He destroyed the first right with a powerful backside and on his third wave he finished off the win with a left in which he left his edges marked on the clean walls of Zarautz. Result: 16,80 and we'll see each other in the semi-finals.

“It's my first semi-final in a QS so I'm more than motivated and the waves are incredible,” said the young Argentinian in an interview after the heat.

The beach was on its feet when Zumaia local Imanol Yeregui entered the water to take on Maxime Huscenot (FRA). Imanol continued in the same vein of recent days with solid surfing that was reminiscent of his neighbour and inspiration Aritz Aranburu but Maxime was not done and destroying a right hander with a spectacular repertoire of manoeuvres earned him a place in the finals.

Surprisingly, the organisation decided to postpone the finals to Sunday even though Zarautz was pumping clean water non-stop and a storm, wind and a drop in size were approaching.

We'll see how it goes on Sunday. What is clear is that it won't happen due to a lack of surfing skills.

Semis men
Jorgann Couzinet (FRA) x Vicente Romero (ESP)
Nacho Gundensen (ARG) x Maxime Huscenot (FRA)

Semi-ladies
Pauline Ado (FRA) x Garazi Sanchez (ESP)
Leticia Canales (ESP) x  Camila Kemp (POR)