Mick Fanning takes down Bede Durbidge to step into Round 4 of Billabong Rio Pro – Surfing News
Australia’s surfing elite Mick Fanning advanced through into the fourth round of Billabong Rio Pro, the latest stop on the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Title Series roster, after prevailing over his fellow countryperson Bede Durbidge
in the fourth heat of Round 3 that went down at the main event of Barra da Tijuca in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Tuesday, May 15.
Fanning, the former two-time ASP World Champion and current World No.2, arrived at Brazil in a formidable form, looking to collect an excellent result in order to improve his chances of getting his hands on the coveted World Title.
Barra da Tijuca did not turn out to be an ideal stage for the battles between the world’s best surfers due to the absence of its fabled high-performance waves. The situation had improved considerably on Tuesday, sending three-to-five foot barrels in the
direction of the surfers during their battles for survival in the event.
Pitted against his compatriot Durbidge in the fourth heat of Round 3, Fanning braced himself to go hard at his rival. He had both the experience as well as the skills to make the most of whatever conditions were at hand. While Durbidge was a pretty talented
surfer himself, it was hard not to tip Fanning as the favourite.
As the man-on-man for the Round 4 spot got underway, the 30-year-old Fanning got off to a solid start, locking his first business-wave in the opening minutes of the heat to post a 6.00 on the score-board. He kept the momentum going to catch another juicy
wave and this time pulled out a string of powerful turns from his arsenal, consequently posting a 7.00 on the score-board to reach a heat-total of 13.00 points.
Durbidge completely succumbed to his rivals and the conditions, hardly offering any resistance to keep Fanning from moving into the next round. Scoring a 3.00 off his first business-wave and backing it up with a 1.17-point ride, Durbidge finished with a
heat-total of 4.17 points. The lack-lustre performance led to his elimination from the competition while rewarding a convincing victory to Fanning.
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