{"id":40529,"date":"2013-03-12T07:38:00","date_gmt":"2013-03-12T15:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/?p=40529"},"modified":"2013-03-12T09:46:37","modified_gmt":"2013-03-12T17:46:37","slug":"titans-face-off-in-quik-pro-semi-finals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/?p=40529","title":{"rendered":"Titans Face Off In Quik Pro Semi Finals"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Michelbourez5663Qgc13Whs\"<\/a>
\nMichel Bourez sneaks into a stacked semifinal line up.<\/em><\/p>\n

Ignoring Michel Bourez for a moment today’s (well, tomorrow local time) Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast<\/strong> semi finals look straight out of the early 2000s: Kelly Slater<\/strong> vs. Mick Fanning<\/strong>, and current ASP world champ Joel Parkinson<\/strong> against the new guy. It would appear that experience matters. Either that, or the new ASP knows exactly how to pack a contest for maximum entertainment value. And the biggest will no doubt be the battle betwixt Slater and Fanning.<\/p>\n

\u201cMick (Fanning) and I have a lot of history together,\u201d Slater said. \u201cWe both put our competitive heads on during events and he has a lot of experience out here. The home town crowd will be backing him big time and that\u2019s always fun. Should be a good heat.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Yes, it should be. The event will start this afternoon sometimes (PDT) and tomorrow morning Australian time. For the official word and results, follow the jump.SNAPPER ROCKS, Queensland\/Australia (Tuesday, March 12, 2013) -The Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast presented by Land Rover, the opening stop on the 2013 ASP World Championship Tour (WCT), completed Round 5 as well as the Quarterfinals today in clean three-to-four foot (1.5 metro) waves at Snapper Rocks, narrowing the field down to the Final Four and setting up for tomorrow\u2019s finish.<\/p>\n

Joel Parkinson (AUS), 31, reigning ASP World Champion, posted the first Perfect 10 of the event today, mixing it up on the afternoon Snapper Rocks walls with unmatched style, power and versatility in his Quarterfinal bout with Julian Wilson (AUS), 24. The local standout was in sizzling form throughout the bout, posting a number of high scores and collecting the day\u2019s high heat total of an 18.27 out of a possible 20.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was an amazing heat to be in,\u201d Parkinson said. \u201cJulian (Wilson) is one of the most exciting surfers in world. Even with a 10, you\u2019re never safe with him. It\u2019s one of those heats that\u2019s a big match-up on paper and there were some big exchanges going down between us. Semifinals is good start for me and I\u2019m feeling good and excited for a big finish tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ASP World No. 1 will take on Michel Bourez (PYF), 27, tomorrow in the opening Semifinal of the event.
\nThe Tahitian power broker continued his dream run at the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast today, eliminating defending event champion Taj Burrow (AUS), 34, in their Quarterfinal bout.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a huge win for me,\u201d Bourez said. \u201cTaj (Burrow) is the defending champ out here and he\u2019s such a good surfer in these waves. It\u2019s been a great event for me. I\u2019m feeling healthy and hopefully I can keep surfing well and make my first Final on tour.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kelly Slater (USA), 41, 11-time ASP World Champion and 2012 ASP World Runner-Up, put in a juggernaut performance in this afternoon\u2019s Quarterfinals, posting an excellent 18.03 out of a possible 20 in a momentum-building display against Bede Durbidge (AUS), 30.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was a fun heat and it definitely improved for me towards the end,\u201d Slater said. \u201cI\u2019m on a new board so I didn\u2019t feel great during the start of that heat, but it felt better with each wave and was feeling really good by the end. The waves are fun and really improved following the hold. When it\u2019s clean like it is this afternoon, after the hold anyway, Snapper is a really fun wave.\u201d<\/p>\n

Slater will face Gold Coast local and two-time ASP World Champion (2007, 2009) Mick Fanning (AUS), 31, in tomorrow\u2019s Semifinals.
\n\u201cMick (Fanning) and I have a lot of history together,\u201d Slater said. \u201cWe both put our competitive heads on during events and he has a lot of experience out here. The home town crowd will be backing him big time and that\u2019s always fun. Should be a good heat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fanning closed out the day\u2019s action with a convincing Quarterfinal win over compatriot Matt Wilkinson (AUS), 24.<\/p>\n

\u201cWilko (Matt Wilkinson) has really been on point this event and has been amazing on his backhand,\u201d Fanning said. \u201cHe\u2019s a friend and a Rip Curl teammate, but we\u2019re both out there to win and I wasn\u2019t taking him lightly. The waves were pretty fun and I was able to loosen up later in the heat after putting some scores on the board. It was a solid heat for me and I feel good heading into tomorrow\u2019s final day.\u201d
\nEvent organizers will reconvene tomorrow morning at 6:30am to assess conditions for a possible 8am start. The Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast will culminate tomorrow on the final day of the window.<\/p>\n

Highlights from the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast presented by Land Rover are available via quiksilverlive.com
\nFor more information, log onto ASPWorldTour.com<\/p>\n

QUIKSILVER PRO GOLD COAST ROUND 5 RESULTS<\/strong>:
\nHeat 1: Michel Bourez (PYF) 17.10 def. Jeremy Flores (FRA) 13.33
\nHeat 2: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 13.83 def. Adam Melling (AUS) 11.83
\nHeat 3: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 11.67 def. Brett Simpson (USA) 11.00
\nHeat 4: Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 13.67 def. Travis Logie (ZAF) 9.24<\/p>\n

QUIKSILVER PRO GOLD COAST QUARTERFINAL RESULTS<\/strong>:
\nQF 1: Michel Bourez (PYF) 10.67 def. Taj Burrow (AUS) 9.77
\nQF 2: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 18.27 def. Julian Wilson (AUS) 8.80
\nQF 3: Kelly Slater (USA) 18.03 def. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 10.40
\nQF 4: Mick Fanning (AUS) 16.00 def. Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 10.00
\n
\nQUIKSILVER PRO GOLD COAST SEMIFINAL MATCH-UPS<\/strong>:
\nSF 1: Michel Bourez (PYF) vs. Joel Parkinson (AUS)
\nSF 2: Kelly Slater (USA) vs. Mick Fanning (AUS)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Michel Bourez sneaks into a stacked semifinal line up. Ignoring Michel Bourez for a moment today’s (well, tomorrow local time) Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast semi finals look straight out of the early 2000s: Kelly Slater vs. Mick Fanning, and current ASP world champ Joel Parkinson against the new guy. It would appear that experience matters. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40529"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=40529"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40529\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40550,"href":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40529\/revisions\/40550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=40529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=40529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.boardistan.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=40529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}