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Durbanites Jordy Smith and Travis Logie finished second in their respective heats on the opening day of the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast, stop No. 1 of 10 on the 2010 ASP World Tour, and will contest cutthroat, sudden-death heats in Round 2 when competition resumes.
Competing in tricky 1 – 1.5 metre waves at Snapper Rocks in Queensland, Australia earlier today, Logie finished behind Adrian Buchan (AUS) and ahead of 2001 ASP World Champion CJ Hobgood (USA) in a tightly contested, all goofy-foot (ride with right foot in front) heat.
Smith, ranked No. 11 going into the event, briefly held the lead in his opening encounter but ultimately had to settle for the runner-up berth behind rookie Dusty Payne (HAW) with Drew Courtney (AUS) in third place.
Smith faces another rookie in Marco Polo (BRA) in a man-on-man match-up in Round 2 while Logie comes up against veteran Kieran Perrow (AUS) in his bid to stay in contention in the US$450 000 (approx. 3.4 million) event.
Former nine-time ASP World Champion Kelly Slater (USA), 38, demonstrated that he is fully focused on capturing an unprecedented 10th world title by posting both the highest scoring single wave of the day – 9.27 out of 10 – for a deep tube ride, and the highest two-wave heat total – 17.77 out of 20 – which left his opponents Ben Dunn (AUS) and Polo combo’d and needing to improve on both their counting scores.
The top seeds dominated proceedings today with five of the top six winning their first round heats and advancing directly to Round 3. Reigning and two-time ASP World Champion Mick Fanning, 2009 ASP World Tour runner-up Joel Parkinson, No. 3 Bede Durbidge (all Gold Coast locals), No. 5 Adriano de Souza (BRA) and Slater all posted victories.
Event organizers will reconvene tomorrow morning at 6:30am to assess conditions for a possible 7:30am start (11.30pm on Saturday, SA Time).
When Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast competition resumes, first up will be current ASP World No. 4 Taj Burrow (AUS), 31, against wildcard Garrett Parkes (AUS), 18, in the opening heat of the man-on-man elimination Round 2.
The Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast pres. by Land Rover features the world’s best surfers from February 27 through March 10, 2010 and will be webcast LIVE via www.quiksilverpro.com.au
The Roxy Pro Gold Coast, Stop No. 1 of 9 on the 2010 ASP Women’s World Tour, will run in conjunction with the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast. East Londoners Rosanne Hodge, in her fourth year at the highest level, and Nikita Robb, who is making her debut, will fly the South African flag on the women’s tour this year.
For more information, log onto www.aspworldtour.com
QUIKSILVER PRO GOLD COAST ROUND 1 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Brett Simpson (USA) 10.67, Dane Reynolds (USA) 6.70, Roy Powers (HAW) 6.24
Heat 2: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 12.67, Damien Hobgood (USA) 12.23, Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 7.97
Heat 3: Tiago Pires (PRT) 13.26, Bobby Martinez (USA) 12.70, Tanner Gudauskas (USA) 11.94
Heat 4: Adrian Buchan (AUS) 11.30, Travis Logie (ZAF) 10.36, C.J. Hobgood (USA) 8.26
Heat 5: Kelly Slater (USA) 17.77, Ben Dunn (AUS) 9.50, Marco Polo (BRA) 7.34
Heat 6: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 13.90, Michel Bourez (PYF) 13.47, Blake Thornton (AUS) 8.86
Heat 7: Chris Davidson (AUS) 12.50, Taj Burrow (AUS) 9.13, Neco Padaratz(BRA) 6.64
Heat 8: Mick Fanning (AUS) 17.36, Kai Otton (AUS) 11.53, Garrett Parkes (AUS) 10.77
Heat 9: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 13.17, Blake Ainsworth (AUS) 9.73, Kekoa Bacalso (HAW) 6.23
Heat 10: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 14.57, Mick Campbell (AUS) 14.40, Craig Anderson (AUS) 6.16
Heat 11: Dusty Payne (HAW) 11.60, Jordy Smith (ZAF) 9.10, Drew Courtney (AUS) 4.76
Heat 12: Taylor Knox (USA) 14.83, Luke Stedman (AUS) 10.56, Nathan Yeomans (USA) 8.23
Heat 13: Tom Whitaker (AUS) 10.80, Jay Thompson (AUS) 10.66, Andy Irons (HAW) 5.83
Heat 14: Luke Munro (AUS) 12.73, Daniel Ross (AUS) 11.27, Kieren Perrow (AUS) 9.40
Heat 15: Owen Wright (AUS) 14.10, Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 13.53, Patrick Gudauskas (USA) 9.57
Heat 16: Jadson Andre (BRA) 14.94, Adam Melling (AUS) 11.30, Dean Morrison (AUS) 11.17
QUIKSILVER PRO GOLD COAST ROUND 2 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Garrett Parkes (AUS)
Heat 2: C.J. Hobgood (USA) vs. Blake Ainsworth (AUS)
Heat 3: Bobby Martinez (USA) vs. Craig Anderson (USA)
Heat 4: Damien Hobgood (USA) vs. Neco Padaratz (BRA)
Heat 5: Dane Reynolds (USA) vs. Blake Thornton (AUS)
Heat 6: Jordy Smith (ZAF) vs. Marco Polo (BRA)
Heat 7: Kieren Perrow (AUS) vs. Travis Logie (ZAF)
Heat 8: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) vs. Tanner Gudauskas (USA)
Heat 9: Dean Morrison (AUS) vs. Matt Wilkinson (AUS)
Heat 10: Kai Otton (AUS) vs. Nathan Yeomans (USA)
Heat 11: Kekoa Bacalso (HAW) vs. Jay Thompson (AUS)
Heat 12: Mick Campbell (AUS) vs. Adam Melling (AUS)
Heat 13: Michel Bourez (PYF) vs. Patrick Gudauskas (USA)
Heat 14: Ben Dunn (AUS) vs. Daniel Ross (AUS)
Heat 15: Roy Powers (HAW) vs. Andy Irons (HAW)
Heat 16: Drew Courtney (AUS) vs. Luke Stedman (AUS)
ROXY PRO GOLD COAST ROUND 1 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 1: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), Paige Hareb (NZL), Carissa Moore (HAW)
Heat 2: Coco Ho (HAW), Rebecca Woods (AUS), Claire Bevilacqua (AUS)
Heat 3: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), Bruna Schmitz (BRA), Tyler Wright (AUS)
Heat 4: Silvana Lima (BRA), Jessi Miley-Dyer (AUS), Nikita Robb (ZAF)
Heat 5: Sofia Mulanovich (PER), Rosanne Hodge (ZAF), Lee Ann Curren (FRA)
Heat 6: Melanie Bartels (HAW), Chelsea Hedges (AUS), Amee Donohoe (AUS)
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