Jordy Smith defeats Mick Fanning in final to claim 2011 Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay title
After a series of adrenaline-pumping battles, along with numerous ups and downs over the past week, Billabong Pro Jeffreys Bay came down to the final battle on Sunday, July 24, at the coastline of Jeffreys Bay in South Africa.
After an exhilarating contest, South Africa’s Jordy Smith prevailed over Australia’s Mick Fanning to successfully defend his title.
Despite the tough surfing conditions prevailing at the event site, the final was full of exquisite action as the two in-form surfers battled against each other for the title.
Even though 30-year-old Fanning had seemed a little inconsistent over the last few days, his quarter-final and semi-final heats had made it clear that the former two-times Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Champion was back in form.
A much younger Smith, only 23 years of age, had been making waves in the competition with his exceptional performance to take down a handful of elite surfers and make his way to the final stage of the event. He was clearly prepared to take on anyone in his
determined campaign to defend his event-title.
As the heat kicked off, Fanning drew first blood, opening his account with a 8.00-point wave. Smith soon caught a juicy wave to pull off a set of stylish tricks and collected 8.60 points off it to get an upper hand.
The South African force soon added another 7.00 points to his account off his second business-wave and climbed to a heat-total of 15.60 points. The gate of opportunity was definitely open for Fanning, though the challenging conditions could not be ignored.
Searching hard for the necessary score to edge past his South African rival, Fanning only managed to collect a 6.83 off his second business-wave and finished with a heat-total of 14.83 points. Finishing in a 0.77-point deficit, he was forced to surrender
victory to Smith, much to the joy of the local crowd.
Talking to the media after the conclusion of the heat and announcement of result, Smith had nothing but praises for Fanning.
“Mick (Fanning) has surfed amazing all week,” Smith said. “He’s always an inspiration and he’s right there with everyone in the hunt for the title. Today’s a huge win for me. Last year, it was very emotional. To back it up this year just feels really, really
good. It’s huge for my confidence and I’m looking forward to the rest of the year.”
Fanning appreciated the South African’s performance in the final and congratulated him for the win. However, he continued that six heats in two days made things really difficult for him, preventing him from giving his 100% in the finals.
Securing victory in the fourth ASP World Tour event, Smith jumped from the fifth to second place on the ASP World Title rankings. He is now well poised to chase the 2011 ASP World Title as the season moves to the latter half of the year.
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