Kelly Slater defeats Jeremy Flores in Round 5 of Quiksilver Pro New York – 2011 ASP World Tour
The sixth of eleven stops on the 2011 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour, Quiksilver Pro New York, continued to treat the fans to intense surfing action with the second heat of the sudden-death Round 5 on Thursday, September 8, at Long
Beach, New York.
Despite tough surfing conditions, America’s Kelly Slater came up with an impressive performance during the second heat to prevail over France’s Jeremy Flores and clinch the quarter-final spot, while removing his opponent from the competition in the process.
The strong on-shore winds at Long Beach were proving to be quite a nuisance for surfers during their hunt for good scores on Thursday. To make matters worse, the conditions continued to deteriorate as the day progressed.
It was in these demanding conditions that the Round 5 bout between Slater and Flores kicked off. The 10-time ASP world Champion had an advantage of possessing the local knowledge of the waves, along with the support of the local crowd. However, nothing could
be said with conviction as upsets were always on the cards during the ASP World Tour.
As the battle kicked off, the 39-year-old Slater got off to a slow start, struggling to get a decent score off the waves that he caught. However, he managed to lock a juicy wave in the later stages of the battle to pull off an impressive manoeuvre, posting
7.23 points on the scoreboard. In the dying minutes of the heat, the American caught another wave and utilised it to add an additional 7.37 points to his account, climbing to a heat-total of 14.60 points.
Flores faced the same problem as his opponent in the initial stages of the 30-minute heat. While there was no shortage of waves, the strong on-shore winds prevented him from riding them cleanly. As the heat-clock ticked away, the Frenchman continued to struggle
to get his hands on a good score, but the effort was not bringing any satisfactory results.
After a long and determined search, Flores eventually had to settle for a heat-total of 6.67 points, scoring 3.67 off his first business-wave and 3.00 points off his second. The disappointing performance forced him to surrender victory to Slater, sending
the American into the quarter-finals.
Commenting on the heat afterwards, Slater said, “The conditions are tough. It has changed a lot from my last heat and with the rips from east wind, it's a lot trickier, especially on the lefts. I was trying to find peaky mid-sized rights and wasn't sure
where to sit. Obviously you want to make at least Quarterfinals when you're in position for a World Title. Maybe Owen (Wright) and Joel (Parkinson) are facing the pressure for that as well.”
With his victory in the fifth round, Slater will continue his campaign for his 11th ASP World Title by facing Australia’s in-form Josh Kerr in the quarter-finals.
For more updates on Round 5 of Quiksilver Pro New York, stay tuned to bettor.com
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