Hobgood and Fanning advance to the semi-finals at Volcom Fiji Pro – Surfing news
America’s C.J. Hobgood and Australia’s Mick Fanning walked away victorious from their respective quarter-final heats at the Volcom Fiji Pro, the fourth of ten stops on the 2013 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Championship Tour, which continued
at the main event venue of Cloudbreak in Tavarua, Fiji, on Wednesday, June 12, 2013.
Hobgood got the better of Australia’s Josh Kerr in the third quarter-final, whereas Fanning managed to claim victory over Australia’s Joel Parkinson in the fourth quarter-final to complete the semi-final line-up.
For the second consecutive day, the world’s top surfers found themselves battling for the coveted event title in pumping six-to-eight foot waves.
After putting on a good show in the previous rounds, Hobgood and Kerr found themselves going head-to-head against each other for the semi-final spot.
Both the surfers seemed rather uncomfortable in the barrelling conditions, the same conditions that the America’s Kelly Slater and Hawaii’s John John Florence had made to look perfect earlier in the day.
Despite a long and determined hunt, Hobgood only managed to get to a heat-total of 7.77 points, courtesy of a 4.10 and 3.67-point ride. The score was a modest one without any doubt, but it still proved sufficient to earn him a win over Kerr, who finished
a mere 0.27 points behind him after scoring a 5.10 and 2.40 off his best-two waves.
The battle for the last-available spot in the semi-finals took place between Fanning, former two-time ASP World Champion, and Parkinson, the reigning ASP World Champion.
The two surfers looked much more comfortable in the pumping barrels than Hobgood and Kerr, but they also failed to come close to the magic that Florence and Slater had created during their respective quarter-final heats.
As the fourth quarter-final got underway, Fanning opened his account with a 6.63-point ride and went on to add an additional 5.50 points to his account, thus registering a heat-total of 12.13 points.
Parkinson did not stay too far behind him on the score-board as he managed to score a 6.50 off his first business-wave. He needed something close to a six to finish on top of his rival, but only managed to find a 5.33-point ride, thus finishing behind him
with a heat-total of 11.83 points.
The second-place finish resulted in a premature exit from the competition for the defending ASP World Champion.
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