A brief look at Kelly Slater’s performance in early stages of 2011 ASP World Tour
Kelly Slater is a legend in the world of surfing and there is absolutely no denying that. Anyone who fails to understand all the fuss about him simply needs to pick up his career record and take a look at his long list of accomplishments. The 10 Association
of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour titles on his resume are enough to assert his dominance of the sport, while the 47 elite tour victories to date further serve to glorify his credentials.
At the age of 20, Slater became the youngest surfer to claim the coveted ASP title, while he later went on to earn the bragging rights for becoming the oldest surfer to take home the title in 2011, his tenth in case anyone is still bothering to keep a count.
However, the surfing phenom seems to be far from done yet and regardless of the many speculations and rumours circulating around, Slater is currently immersed in a campaign for what may possibly be his 11th World title.
The 39-year-old Slater kicked off his pursuit for the 11th ASP World title with Quiksilver Pro in three-to-five foot waves at the Snapper Rocks beach-break in Queensland, Australia. Despite being pitted against the world’s top 33 surfers, the
Florida-based athelete collected victory after victory while swiftly bridging the distance between himself and the event-title. Passing unscratched through his quarter-final and Semi-Final heat, Slater entered the Final to face the Australian force, Taj Burrow.
With the form that Slater was in, it was only natural to expect the result of the battle to come out in Slater’s favour. Despite a remarkable fight put up by the local favourite, Slater lived up to the expectations and conquered the very first event of the
latest world tour season.
After getting an ideal start to the season, the iconic surfer made his way to Victoria, Australia, for the second stop of the world tour, Rip Curl Pro. Slater continued his momentum in the four-to-eight foot waves of Bells Beach as he bested an extremely
talented line-up in the first, third and fourth round to make his way into the quarter-finals without as much as a scratch. Competing against Brazil’s progressive surfer, Adriano de Souza, in the quarter-final, it seemed as if Slater would have a somewhat
easy time earning the semi-final spot. However, it turned out that the Brazilian had other plans for the world’s greatest surfer. To say that Slater was dominated by De Souza during their quarter-final matchup would not be an exaggeration indeed. As shocking
as it all was, Slater had to make an early exit from the competition.
With Rip Curl Pro out of the way, the elite Top 34 made their way to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, to compete in the third elite event of the season, Billabong Rio Pro. Slater got off to a blazing start despite the less-than-ideal conditions at the event site,
Barra da Tijuca. However, it turned out to be an extremely short event for the surfing icon as he conceded victory to his compatriot, Bobby Martinez, in Round 3, much to the astonishment of everyone. A premature finish to the event resulted in Slater losing
his No.1 slot on the World Title Rankings to Brazil’s De Souza.
The next elite tour event of the 2011 season, Billabong Pro, brought the ASP world title competitors to Jeffreys Bay in South Africa. However, the absence of one surfer could be strongly felt at the event site. The absentee was none other than Slater, much
to the surprise and dismay of everyone. Though it was later revealed that the American was unable to make it to the competition because of being stuck in Tahiti, his absence was regarded by some of his peers in the ASP tour as offensive. Many blamed him for
not taking the World Tour seriously and thinking of himself above the rules of the Tour to be missing out on an event like this. However, it was quite evident that the criticism was just a cover-up for disappointment that many felt for not being able to compete
against the surfing legend at Jeffreys Bay. The absence of Slater from Billabong Pro Tahiti resulted in his further dropping down to the sixth spot on the World Title ankings.
The sixth stop of ASP World Tour, Billabong Pro Tahiti, pitted Slater against the world’s top surfer in the huge swell of Teahupo’o in Tahiti. Since the very first round, the 39-year-old asserted his dominance in the competition and continued to get only
more intimidating as the event progressed. Making his way into the Final unscratched, Slater took on Australia’s Owen Wright for the event title. The flawless form of Slater at the current event allowed him to down his opponent with ease and collect his second
elite event victory of the season, rising to the top on the ASP World Title rankings once again.
So far, Slater seems to be on the right path as he chases his 11th ASP World Title. A few kinks became obvious in his performance over the last few months, but he seems to have taken care of them and looks threatening as ever at the moment. It
would indeed take something special from the rest of the surfers in contention for the World Title to keep Slater at bay while he is in his current form. The Florida native has already shifted to the next gear and made his intention clear. We will just have
to sit patiently and watch how the season unfolds for the surfing legend.
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