FANTASY SURFER NEWS
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Half way through the final both surfers rode waves simultaneously and when they hit the sand a sprint race ensued along the beach back to the rip – much to the delight of the crowd who were enjoying the competition between the two friends.
“I put the sprint on at the start and I thought, I’ve just have to cruise,” said Fanning. “I knew that I could beat him on the paddle out and gain priority. After you’ve been paddling for 25 minutes... to just run like that, I mean, I don’t know where I got that energy from. It didn’t really do anything anyway, I paddled out the back and got a close out anyway.(laughs)”
Finishing in equal third, Slater was going through a lot of “what if” type situations in his head in relation to his title campaign.
A win here would have meant that the title race could nearly have been over but now it will continue on to the next event.
Having narrowly escaped going out of the event in the quarterfinals to Jake Paterson (AUS), Slater had difficulty getting into a rhythm in the current-affected conditions.
In his semi matchup with Fanning he was out of sorts with the waves and while it was close at the outset Fanning grabbed the upper hand and stayed in perfect tune with the waves.
“My semi was a little frustrating,” said Slater. “There basically wasn’t anything in it. It’s disappointing. I’m just that close to getting a win or getting in the final here every year. It just hasn’t happened for me, which is a little frustrating, but I am happy with the result.”
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