Mick Fanning and Kelly Slater head into the semi-finals at 2012 Hurley Pro
Australia’s Mick Fanning and America’s Kelly Slater continued their excellent run of form at Lower Trestles in California, America, on Thursday, September 20, emerging triumphant in their respective quarter-finals at the 2012 Hurley Pro, sixth of ten stops
on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Championship Tour, to secure their place in the semi-finals.
Fanning made his way into the next stage of the competition by defeating his fellow countryperson Taj Burrow in the first quarter-final.
Australia’s Adrian Buchan failed to keep Slater from walking away with the win in the second quarter-final, thus getting eliminated from the competition while conceding the semi-final slot to his rival.
There was plenty of reason for the elite ASP surfers to exert themselves even more upon reaching the quarter-finals since the challenge was only going to be tougher because of a greater determination to go all the way after reaching this far and surviving
so many heats.
Fanning, former two-time ASP World Champion, found himself taking on Burrow, another Australian powerhouse, in the first quarter-final. There was very little to choose between the two surfers since they were equally formidable.
As the heat kicked-off, Fanning got down to business right away, locking a juicy wave that appeared to unleash a series of exquisite tricks, thus earning an 8.40 off his first business-wave. He soon followed it up with a spectacular 9.20-point ride, thus
reaching a heat-total of 17.60 points.
Burrow took his time to move on, but eventually stepped up halfway through the heat to register a 7.70 on the score-board off his first business-wave and later added an additional 8.80 points to his account, thus finishing with a heat-total of 16.50 points.
The effort was nothing short of impressive, but it just was not enough to take him past his rival on the score-board.
The second Quarter-final featured a superb performance by Slater as he shared the sea with Buchan in a battle for the semi-final slot.
The reigning 11-time ASP World Champion got off to a modest start, but eventually picked up to unload a series of exciting tricks on his first business-wave, earning an 8.27 for the effort. Keeping the momentum going, he went on to add an additional 6.90
points to his account, thus reaching a heat-total of 15.17 points.
Buchan scored a 5.83 and 6.10 off his first-two waves to finish with a heat-total of 11.93 points, with the effort significantly short of what was required to keep him alive in the contention for the even title.
Tags: