Kelly Slater wins in Round 1 of Quiksilver Pro New York – 2011 ASP World Tour
USA’s Kelly Slater got himself a perfect start at the Quiksilver Pro New York by prevailing over Australia’s Daniel Ross and America’s Balaram Stack in the sixth heat of Round 1 on Tuesday, September 6, at the Long Beach in New York, America.
The win sent Slater straight to Round 3, while Ross and Stack got relegated to Round 2 after rounding out the second and third position respectively.
With two-to-four foot waves on Tuesday, the surfers had to make quick adjustments from the huge barrels of Teahupo’o in Tahiti to the beach-break waves of Long Island.
The 39-year-old Slater, current leader in the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Title race, had been lethal at the previous stop of the World Tour and he seemed to have brought the form with him to New York.
As the sixth heat kicked off, Slater immediately took control of the heat by locking a wave to score 7.17 points off it. Adding another 7.03 points to his account, he moved to a heat-total 14.20 points. The score remained unbeatable till the end and eventually
carried him off to a convincing win.
Talking to a reporter after the heat, Slater said, “New York has been good. Everyone is super cool and I'm excited to be here. The waves are a little small, so it's tough, but it's the first round and no one loses and the swell should be building. My board
felt good, it's an epoxy, but pretty much same thing I've been riding. Hopefully we'll find some peaky barrels and we'll see what happens. I know that Hurricane swell is out there, so we'll just see what happens.”
Ross made a determined effort to get his hands on success, but he was forced to settle for runner-up place after finishing with a heat-total of 11.66 points, which comprised of a 6.43 and 5.23-point wave.
Stack put up a disappointing performance during the 30-minute heat and only managed to collect a 3.37 and 2.70-point wave to finish with a heat-total of 6.07 points.
Despite tasting defeat, both Ross and Stack remain alive in the contention for the event title and will compete in the second round for a Round 3 spot.
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