World Champion Mick Fanning got things started by coasting past Brett Simpson, reminding the kid from Huntington Beach (who cost Fanning $100,000 at the U.S. Open) that he was on Fanning's turf at Snapper.
Joel Parkinson gave Dusty Payne a good thrashing while showing absolutely no signs of last year's ankle injury. He did, however, resemble the Parko we saw early in the season.
Taj Burrow finally managed to put the clamp on the very dangerous Owen Wright, who wreaked havoc with the big guns last year as a wild card and is hoping to carry that momentum through in his rookie season.
Then, on cue, after a day of brutal passing rain squalls and 30 mph winds the skies parted as Kelly Slater took to the water against Patrick Gudauskas.
After a slow start, Slater put on his most inspiring performances in years. Though the scores didn't reflect it (because tubes were harder to find than a few heats earlier) his precision and handling of the throaty Snapper walls was as good as it gets. Slater's little swallow tail with a scooped deck fit the the low-tide bowls like a glove, and his movements and thoughts were one and the same as he surpassed even the best mind surfing session.
You could say it was vintage Slater, but that implies he was better in the past, and 38-year-old Slater looks like he's still getting better.
In the final heat of the day -- one of the best third rounds of competition you could hope for -- Jordy Smith fought off a late charge by Tiago Pires to survive.
As for the other notables: Bobby Martinez took down a still rusty Andy Irons. Dane Reynolds came from behind to
beat his Quiksilver teammate Jeremy Flores. Reynolds nabbed the lead in the closing moments after a shaky start. "Jeremy gets phsyched for big heats," said Kelly Slater, watching the Reynolds vs. Flores match. "And Dane's got a huge target on his back because he's Dane."
Reynolds admitted he was struggling in the stormy conditions. "I'm sure it's pretty easy for Mick and Joel when it's like this but I was lost out there."
Bede Durbidge, on the other hand, was finding every good wave that came through on Wednesday. The 6'1" Durbidge stood tall in number of ferocious caverns. He emerged repeatedly to earn scores in the 9.0 category, giving him the highest heat total of the day.
As good as the Round Three match ups were, Round Four is looking even better, but witnesses won't be forgetting Wednesday's action for some time, as it was some of the best Round Three surfing the tour's ever seen.
QUIKSILVER PRO GOLD COAST ROUND 4 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Adriano de Souza (BRA) vs. Adrian Buchan (AUS)
Heat 2: Chris Davidson (AUS) vs. Taj Burrow (AUS)
Heat 3: Bobby Martinez (USA) vs. Damien Hobgood (USA)
Heat 4: Kai Otton (AUS) vs. Mick Fanning (AUS)
Heat 5: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW)
Heat 6: Daniel Ross (AUS) vs. Dane Reynolds (USA)
Heat 7: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Kieren Perrow (AUS)
Heat 8: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Jordy Smith (ZAF)
0 Comments
0 of 0
Add a Comment