Australian Open of Surfing
Billy Stairmand’s strong run ended yesterday when the Raglan surfer finished third in his fourth round men’s heat.
Following three days of non-stop action, the final 16 surfers for both the Men’s and Women’s divisions have been decided at the Hurley Australian Open of Surfing.
All eyes were on number one seed, Mick Fanning (Gold Coast, QLD, AUS) ,the biggest name in the Men’s draw. but the three-time champ could not claim a heat win today in 1.5m plus surf. He squeaked through in second placetime behind a QS stalwart from the Canary Islands, Jonathan González.
The margin was as tight as it gets, with just a tenth of a point separating the two, but importantly for Fanning he was light years ahead of South African Michael February, who was eliminated in third place.
“It was another close heat but that’s the way it goes sometimes,” said Fanning. “From now on though, second won’t be good enough. We’re into man-on-man from Round 5 onwards so it’s time to take it up a notch. I’ve had a few heats to get back in the groove, feel out some new equipment and dust off the cobwebs.”
Fanning’s next heat should be a beauty – he will face off against 18 year-old Mateai Hiquily (PYF) who beat him with a lucky last-minute wave in Round 1. Expect some fireworks!
Championship Tour surfers, Adrian “Ace” Buchan (Avoca, NSW, AUS) and Freddy Patacchia (Sunset Beach, Oahu, HAW) fought a seesawing battle. Both are experienced CT campaigners, both are goofy foots and they share a very similar approach and repertoire.
Buchan ran away with the win, destroying a clean, overhead set-wave in the last moment, but Freddy was looking as sharp as ever. These CT guys are going to be ones to watch in Round 5. Ace will face off against fellow Aussie Stuart Kennedy (Lennox Head, NSW, AUS) while Freddy will meet Heath Joske (Valla Beach, NSW, AUS).
Kolohe Andino (San Clemente, CA, USA), Bede Durbidge (Stradbroke Is, QLD, AUS), Alejo Muniz (Santa Catarina, BRA), Michael Rodriguez (BRA) and Jack Freestone (Gold Coast, QLD, AUS) are among the other Men’s contenders.
In the Women’s, you could have taken a look down the list of big-name seeds and bet some safe money on all of them progressing; that’s exactly what happened in Round 4 today.
Standouts included a couple of former finalists…
2014 Hurley Australian Open of Surfing runner-up, Alessa Quizon of Hawaii, was in excellent form, unloading fast and critical backhand blasts to secure her spot in Round 5.
“It’s good to have some bigger waves, but it’s still tricky out there,” Quizon said. “You have to be patient and wait for the good ones. It would be nice to make the Final again, but I’m not putting pressure on myself – right now it’s about staying focused on the next heat.”
Quizon has drawn fellow Hawaiian Tatiana Weston-Webb in that next heat and the winner will book a spot in the Quarterfinals.
Inaugural Hurley Australian Open of Surfing Champ, Sally Fitzgibbons (Gerroa, NSW, AUS) also advanced on through to Round 5 today. She finished 0.37points behind Quizon and made it clear she is hungry to go all the way again this year.
“There are 15 of the top 17 female surfers in the world here, plus a bunch of hungry QS surfers who want to have a good start to the year so it will be a tough one to win. I’ve got to be on my toes, but a lot of people from my home town have come up to see me surf and it’s great to have them in my corner. A win would be the perfect way to start the new year,” said Fitzgibbons.
Six-time World Champ, Stephanie Gilmore (Coolangatta, QLD/AUS) powered though another heat win, as did defending Hurley event champion Carissa Moore (Honolulu, Oahu, HAW), Tyler Wright (Culburra, NSW, AUS), Nikki Van Dijk (Phillip Island, Vic, AUS), Coco Ho (Sunset Beach, Oahu, HAW) and Sage Erickson (Ventura, CA, USA).
Which leaves us to say goodbye to the eight girls who were eliminated today – Phillipa Anderson (Merewether, NSW, AUS), Ella Williams (Whangamata, NZL), Paige Hareb (New Plymouth, NZL), Miho Ihara (JPN), Dominic Barona (ECU), Brianna Cope (Kauai, HAW), Holly-Sue Coffey (Coolangatta, QLD, AUS) and Pauline Ado (Anglet, FRA).