Mick Fanning and Ricardo Dos Santos survive Round 2 at Billabong Pro Tahiti
Australia’s Mick Fanning and Brazil’s Ricardo Dos Santos successfully bounced back from a Round 1 defeat after putting on an exquisite performance in their respective Round 2 heats at Billabong Pro Tahiti, the latest stop on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Championship Tour, at Teahupo’o in Taiarapu, Tahiti, on Thursday, August 16.
Fanning got the better of Tahiti’s Alain Riou to confirm his place in the third round, bringing the competition to a premature end for his rival in the process.
The second heat saw South Africa’s Jordy Smith succumb to an impressive performance by Dos Santos, consequently getting eliminated from the competition while sending his rival into the next round.
The high-performance three-to-four foot waves were acting as a perfect canvas for the elite surfers from different parts of the world to put their surfing prowess on display while competing for survival. With the pressure of elimination hanging over their heads, they were expected to push hard in order to extend their life in the competition.
The first heat pitted the former ASP World Champion Fanning against Riou in a man-on-man battle for survival. The difference in experience was there, but it was still too soon to consider Fanning a favourite after keeping his morning performance in mind.
As the battle got underway, Fanning wasted no time to make everyone forget about his Round 1 performance as he collected an 8.77 off his first business-wave in the opening minutes of the heat. He went on to back it up with an 8.83-point ride, thus reaching a heat-total of 17.60 points.
Riou scored a 6.83 and an outstanding 9.80 off his top-two waves to finish with a heat-total of 16.63 points. Though impressive, it just was not enough to challenge the mammoth score posted by his rival and thus led to his elimination from the competition.
The second heat featured one of the biggest upsets of the day as Dos Santos brought the competition to a premature end for Smith.
The Brazilian surfer opened his account with a 7.00-point ride and went on to add an additional 8.37 points to it, thus reaching a heat-total of 15.37 points.
Smith responded with an impressive 8.00-point ride, but only managed to back it up with a 1.67=point, finishing with a consequent heat-total of 9.67 points.
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