Dane Reynolds overcome John John Florence in nail-biting Quiksilver Pro France semi-final
America’s Dane Reynolds got the better of Hawaii’s John John Florence in the first semi-final of Quiksilver Pro France, the seventh of ten stops on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Championship Tour, which went down at La Graviere
in Hossegor, France, on Friday, October 5.
The battle turned out to be a real nail-biter, with both the surfers putting on an exciting performance, but it was the ASP World Tour veteran who stood victorious once the dust settled.
Getting into the latest elite tour event as a wildcard, Reynolds was making the most of the opportunity to remind the crowd in attendance and the large global audience catching the action live through webcast why he is considered among the best surfers that
America has produced over the years.
Pitted against the American powerhouse was the Hawaiian prodigy Florence. The 19-year-old surfer was proving to be a real force to be reckoned in his ASP Dream Tour rookie, therefore securing his place in the Top 5 on the 2012 ASP World Championship Tour
rankings.
Taking each other on in a one-on-one battle for a shot at the title, Reynolds went through a series of average scores before locking a massive wave, which he utilised to post an impressive 9.00 on the score-board.
Reynolds added an additional 6.70 points to his account, thus reaching a heat-total of 15.70 points.
Florence had no intention to let his rival take control of the heat and put up a strong fight to try and get past him on the score-board.
Earning a 7.93 off his first business-wave late in the heat, the Hawaiian created a solid opportunity for himself to take the win.
Needing a big score off his second business-wave, Florence only managed to add another 7.67 points to his account, thus finishing with a heat-total of 15.60 points, thus forced to concede victory to his rival due to deficit of merely 0.10 points.
“Obviously, I would have wanted to make the Final,” Florence said. “It went into a very close heat and I would rather lose by 3 points away than to lose with a 0.1 difference – it feels like I was a cutback away but I’m very happy with making the Semifinals.
The waves have been all-time every single day, just crazy shorebreak barrels and it’s been a lot of fun.”
Securing his place in the final, Reynolds now had to wait for the result of the second semi-final to see if he was going to have to take on America’s Kelly Slater or Australia’s Joel Parkinson in a battle for the overall victory.
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