Mick Fanning and CJ Hobgood jump into Billabong Pro Tahiti quarter-finals
Australia’s Mick Fanning and America’s CJ Hobgood continued their solid form during the fourth round of Billabong Pro Tahiti, the fifth stop on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Championship Tour, clinching a convincing win in their
respective heats that went down at Teahupo’o in Taiarapu, Tahiti, on Sunday, August 26, to advance to the quarter-finals.
Fanning got the better of his fellow countrymen Taj Burrow and Julian Wilson in the first heat to secure his place in the next stage of the competition, while forcing his two rivals to take a trip to the fifth round to surf again for a place in the quarter-finals.
The second heat saw Hobgood prevail over Australia’s Owen Wright and Brazil’s Ricardo Dos Santos, relegating his two rivals into the fifth round while jumping straight into the quarter-finals himself.
The rapidly improving surfing conditions at the main event site promised to deliver a heavy dose of thrilling action on the latest day of the competition. The elite ASP surfers were not expected to relax despite the pressure of elimination being removed
from their heads during the latest round.
The opening heat of Round 4 saw former two-time ASP World Champion Fanning take on Burrow and Wilson in a three-man battle for the quarter-final spot.
As the battle got underway, Fanning, current No.1 on the ASP World Championship Tour rankings, got down to business right away, earning a 6.50 off his first business-wave. He carried the momentum into the later stages of the heat to add an additional 9.10
points to his account, thus finishing with a decisive heat-total of 15.60 points.
“The conditions are night and day between the two heats today,” Fanning said. “This morning wasn’t classic Chopes and it was more turns than barrels, and then this afternoon, the wind came good and the swell was pulsing. It was so much fun. I’m into the
Quarterfinals now so that’s a pretty good result for me historically at this event. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.”
Burrow scored a 7.67 and 1.43 off his best-two waves to finish with a heat-total of 9.10 points in second place, while a two-wave total of 2.80 points forced Wilson to settle for a third-place finish. Both the surfers were consequently relegated to the fifth
round.
The second heat saw Hobgood get the better of Wright and Dos Santos after a nail-biting contest.
Both Hobgood and Wright looked in extremely good form, consequently treating the fans of the sport of a thrilling contest. The Australian powerhouse opened his account with a 6.17-point ride and went on to back it up with an impressive 9.43-point wave, thus
finishing with a heat-total of 15.60 points.
Hobgood, however, stepped up to get past his rival on the scoreboard with a two-wave total of 16.76 points, which comprised of a 7.83 and 8.93-point ride.
Dos Santos, event wild-card entry who had shocked everyone by eliminating reigning 11-time ASP World Champion Kelly Slater from the competition during Round 3, was unable to make much of an impact during his latest battle. He ended up finishing in third
place after registering a two-wave total of 9.67 points, which included an 8.27 and 1.40-point ride.
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