Slater snaps back into WSL form at Margaret River
Murray Wenzel |
Kelly Slater snapped his favourite board on his first wave of the day but brushed that aside in a promising start to a high-stakes Margaret River Pro for the 11-time world champion.
Currently 26th in the standings, Slater needs a good result in the fifth and final leg before the Championship Tour is cut to include just the top 22.
The American has struggled with injury and form this season and was delayed in his travel from the Gold Coast to the West Australian break.
Then he broke his board early on Friday morning in a free surf, waiting for competition to be called on.
But the setback proved a blessing in disguise, Slater all business in an impressive heat victory over current No.1 Joao Chianca and local injury replacement Jack Thomas.
Slater won with a 14.17-point, two-wave total in a high-scoring heat that saw Thomas relegated to an eliminator, despite his 12.66.
Even Slater’s non-scoring waves were highlights, the 51-year-old carving low and powerfully to delight a commentary team including two-time world champion Tom Carroll.
“There’s a lot of joy in his surfing again,” Carroll told the WSL broadcast.
“It was a fortunate moment, snapping that board he was glued to in his head.
“He’s snapped back out of that and he’s feeling it.
“And when he’s feeling it you can see how beautiful his surfing is.
“I’m flabbergasted; it’s tricky to surf at that level at 50 and beyond, it’s a lot of work on the body, which is constantly going, ‘No, no, you’re not going to pull that one off’.”
Slater admitted his early-morning setback may have been for the best after four CT events this year in which he’s failed to reach the quarter-finals.
“It felt locked in under my feet, was sort of a fortunate accident,” he said of his second-choice ride.
“It bummed me out at first, because I love that board but … I rode that other one in a free surf here last year and felt good, so thought that maybe I’m meant to be on that board.
“It felt right.”
The waves were big enough to produce some exceptional scoring on Friday and are forecast to increase in size as the competition wears on.
John John Florence showed he’d be hard to beat on one of his favourite tour stops, combining 9.10 and 8.83-point waves in a formidable first-round victory.
Australians Jackson Baker (15.00) and Liam O’Brien (16.07) were also impressive, the latter notching a 9.07-ride to relegate defending world champion Filipe Toledo to second in their heat.
All seven Australian CT men have entered the event inside the top-22 cut line, with No.2 Jack Robinson skipping the event after picking up an injury at Bells Beach earlier this month.
AAP
