Kelly Slater survives, Mick Fanning falls in Round 2 at O’Neill Coldwater Classic
America’s Kelly Slater and Brazil’s Jadson Andre recovered from a Round 1 slip at the O’Neill Coldwater Classic, the ninth of ten stops on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Championship Tour, after claiming top honours in their respective
Round 2 heats that went down at Santa Cruz in California, America, on Sunday, November 4, 2012.
Slater got the better of his fellow countryperson Jason Collins in the first heat to make his way into the third round, bringing the competition to a premature end for his rival in the process.
The second heat saw Andre down former two-time ASP World champion Mick Fanning from Australia, thus advancing to Round 3 while removing his rival from the contention for the event title in the process.
Resuming after a lay-day, the latest elite tour event saw challenging conditions on offer at the point-break of Santa Cruz.
Slater, reigning 11-time ASP World Champion and current No.2 on the ASP World Title rankings, had failed to clinch the win during his Round 1 heat, but the Floridian surfer brought things back on tract by prevailing over Collins in the first heat of Round
2.
The 40-year-old surfer locked his first business-wave to post a 5.27 on the scoreboard in the later stages of the heat and immediately backed it up with a 5.93-point ride to eventually conclude with a heat-total of 11.20 points.
Collins responded with a couple of scores in the four-point range off his best-waves, thus having to settle for a heat-total of 9.40 points and consequently surrendering victory to his rival.
While there were no shock in the opening heat of Round 2, the same could not be said about the second heat, which pitted Andre against Fanning, current No.3 on the 2012 ASP World Championship Tour.
As the battle got underway, both the surfers wasted absolutely no time in getting down to business.
Andre locked his first business-wave to post a 6.60 on the score-board in the opening minutes, but Fanning soon stripped him of the lead with an outstanding 9.73-point ride.
As the battle went on, the Australian surfer only managed to add an additional 4.33 points to his account, thus moving to a heat-total of 14.06 points.
Trailing behind Fanning with only a few minutes left in the heat, Andre needed a special effort to keep himself alive in the competition.
Reacting to the urgency well, the Brazilian surfer caught a juicy wave in the dying minutes of the heat to earn a 7.50 off it, which took him ahead of Fanning to a heat-total of 14.10 points, thus marking the end of the competition for Fanning.
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