Kelly Slater powers his way into Quiksilver Pro France Quarter-Finals – 2011 ASP World Tour
The 2011 edition of the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour continued to treat the fans of the sport to thrilling action with the second heat of Round 4 featuring America’s Kelly Slater, Brazil’s Gabriel Medina and Australia’s Adrian Buchan in a battle for the Quarter-Final spot on Tuesday, October 11, at the renowned beach-break of La Graviere in France.
The battle for top honours revolved around Slater and Medina, as both the surfers came up with simply outstanding performances. In the end, however, the American managed to clinch victory and secure his place in the Quarter-Finals. Medina and Buchan rounded out the third position, which led to their relegation into Round 5.
The reigning 10-time ASP World Champion, Slater was quite understandably the favourite during the second heat of Round 4. He had been exhibiting a threatening form over the last few weeks and it seemed next to impossible to keep him from emerging triumphant. He is undoubtedly the best in the sport and that is something that he never lets anyone forget by constantly coming up with spectacular performances.
The Florida-resident had gotten off to a perfect start at La Graviere and was looking to continue his domination during the fourth round in order to grasp the Quarter-Final spot. However he was pitted against an in-form Medina and Buchan, both of whom were expected to put up a determined fight to get their hands on victory.
As the second heat of Round 4 kicked off, the 39-year-old Slater made it clear right in the opening minutes of the 30-minute battle that he meant business by locking a wave to score 7.50 points off it and grab the lead. The joy turned out to be short-lived as Medina immediately responded with a 7.57-point wave and took the advantage over the legendary American surfer.
As the battle progressed, Medina added another 8.23 points to his account, moving to a heat-total of 15.80 as a result and putting Slater under even more pressure. With the heat-clock approaching the finishing time, Slater managed to catch a wave to unload a series of exquisite tricks, getting an 8.33 for the effort and finishing with a heat-total of 15.83 points. It was the difference of mere 0.03 points that forced Medina to surrender victory to his rival, sending him off into the fifth round.
While talking to a reporter after the heat, Slater said, “Quarterfinals is another good result for me and a lot of the guys that were threatening have fallen out early in this event. I haven't worked the numbers out, but they may be too far behind at this point. Owen [Wright] is obviously still in there and he's really strong at the remaining events so I wouldn't be surprised if it came down to the wire. There is still a lot that can happen.”
Buchan also competed for top honours during the second heat of Round 4, though his performance remained pretty lacklustre. He eventually got relegated to Round 5 after finishing in third place with a heat-total of 7.83 points.
For more updates on Round 4 of Quiksilver Pro France, stay tuned to bettor.com.
Tags: