Mick Fanning and Adam Melling triumphant in Round 1 of 2011 Nike US Open of Surfing
The 2011 Nike US Open of Surfing continued to deliver intense surfing action at Huntington Beach Pier in California, America, with the 13th and 14th heat of round of 96 (Round 1) on Tuesday afternoon, August 2.
The 13th heat saw Australia’s Mick Fanning edge past Spain’s Aritz Aranburu to claim top honours and advance to the round of 48 (Round 2). Aranburu went through to the next round as well with his second-place finish. America’s Luke Davis and France’s
Marc Lacomare were ousted from the competition after rounding out the third and fourth positions respectively.
Australia’s Adam Melling clinched victory in the 14th heat, while America’s Kolohe Andino finished as runner-up to go through to the next round. France’s Joan Duru and Brazil’s Raoni Monteiro finished in third and fourth position respectively,
hence getting eliminated from the competition.
The 30-year-old Fanning managed to get an early lead during the 13th heat to put his rivals under pressure. As soon as the heat kicked off, he locked a wave to unload a flurry of impressive manoeuvres, earning 7.17 points for the effort. He immediately
followed it up with a 4.33-point wave to climb to a heat-total of 11.50, which eventually earned him victory.
Spain’s Aranburu put up a commendable fight, scoring 5.83 points off his very first wave and collecting 5.47 points off his second business-wave to finish with a two-wave total of 11.30 points. Despite losing the top slot to Fanning, he still survived the
heat due to his second-place finish.
Local surfer, Davis, was unable to make it to the Round 2 cut after finishing in third place. He collected 5.83 and 5.47 off his top two waves to finish with a heat total of 10.77 points. Lacomare missed out on the Round 2 spot as well after finishing in
fourth place with a two-wave total of 9.30 points.
The 14th heat saw another yet another Australian claiming victory, namely Melling. The 26-year-old got down to work early in the heat, locking a wave to earn 6.17 points off it to move into the lead. After patiently hunting for another good score,
he eventually got himself a 6.30-point wave in the closing minutes to reach a heat-total of 12.47 points. The score remained unbeatable, eventually carrying him off to victory.
California’s Andino utilised his local knowledge of the waves to earn a couple of decent scores, but failed to get past the experienced Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Elite, Melling. However, the 21-year-old managed to take second place after
finishing with a heat total of 11.50 points, which included a 5.83 and 5.67-point wave.
France’s Duru only managed to collect 4.40 and 5.47 points off his top-two waves, finishing with a combined-total of 9.87 points. Monteiro failed to do justice to his reputation as well and apparently succumbed to the challenging surfing conditions. He ended
the heat with a heat-total of 6.70 points, which consisted of a disappointing 3.90 and 2.80-point wave.
For more updates on Round 1 of 2011 Nike US Open of Surfing, stay tuned to bettor.com.
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