Ke11y Road to Victory

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ALMOST UP TO 11, Kelly Slater's road to an historic 11th World Title. He's the best there has ever been, clinching the title after besting Dan Ross in Rd3 of the Rip Curl Pro Search Somewhere in San Francisco. Kelly led a charmed run in 2011, bunking off work to surf Cloudbreak and socking it to the young ones. He came back at the last minute against Dan Ross in Rd3 to win it on the one year anniversary of Andy Irons' death. "It was a scrappy heat" he said. "There's someone looking down on us here and it's probably Andy. I could write a book on our memories, the good, the bad and the ugly." The old dog learned the new tricks and then turned them on his detractors winning back-to-back titles in 2010/11. He's up there as a competitor with anyone you could mention and miraculously devoid of scandal. The most embarrassing thing he's been implicated in is starring in Baywatch and dating Pammy, which would do for most mortals. © 2013 Quiksilver

When Micheal Jordan steped on the court you knew he would do enough to win the game for the Bulls. Similarly when Slater needed a 6.88 with a few minutes left against Dan Ross you knew he would get it and that was it done and done dusted with one case of absenteeism, plus one and a half events left in the calendar. He's currently on 48 tour wins, a feat we will not see repeated in a generation and he's not stopped yet. What happened to talk of retirement? © 2013 Lucia Griggi

Kelly is a total crowd pleaser, they ringed the shore and hassled to chair him him the beach. It's a long way from the shore to the podium here. The funny thing is with Kelly is that aside a few muttering industry insiders there are very few who dislike him, the majority cheer his every dominant footstep. He's an idol, the like of which are rare indeed. © 2013 Lucia Griggi

Slater stats: 11 ASP surfing world champion titles: 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2011 48 wins on the ASP World Tour in 20 years (from 1991 to 2011) $3, 030755 earnings on the ASP circuit The youngest Surfing world Champion ever at the age of 20 (1992), one year after his elite inception. The oldest Surfing world Champion at the age of 39 (2011), 20 years after his elite inception (1991). Owen Wright was 1 and Gabriel Medina wasn't yet born! Also: 14 Surfer Poll Awards 3 Laureus Awards including 2011 2 X Games gold medals Induction into the Surfing Hall of Fame © 2013 Lucia Griggi

Whilst all this was going on there was still an event going down with fittingly Owen Wright surfing. He'll have his day but there was painful poetry in him pulling a massive 9.77 slob air reverse to a sightless crowd with their backs to ocean, mobbing the only guy higher than him in the year's rankings. "I was loving it out there," Wright said. "As soon as I got out there, I got told there would be a break after Kelly's heat I didn't even know it had started. After that they started calling out my scores and I was thinking 'what have I done.' It's just really fun out there actually. Kelly winning the title didn't really change my attitude. I really want to get a good result here and finish the year off strong. Kelly's been amazing and congrats to him. It's something I want to gain from him and compete against him and go for it again." © 2013 Rip Curl/Nate Lawrence

What else happened? KP beat Mick Fanning who's only second to Dane Reynolds in the loss of form stakes. KP went out and blitzed a critical opener. "It's what you need against Mick fanning," Perrow said. "That was one of my better heats in awhile and I'm stoked to win a heat. We have fun conditions and I got good lefts at the start but I started getting nervous with 10 minutes left and got lucky that I got that right that came at the end. A good peak popped up and I dropped in late and got behind that first section and just pushed it. I'm stoked I got a 9, I didn't know it'd be that good of a score." © 2013 Rip Curl/Nate Lawrence

Whilst Fanning seems to be unable to stich two consecutive heats together, Dane Reynolds can't connect two waves in a heat. He all but mathematically waved goodbye to his official status as a 2012 tour surfer. Does he even care? Is his competitive mind shot for the foreseeable? It used to be Dane went big or went home, it was cavalier but everyone loved it, now he damp squibs. His feet refuse to stay with him, wandering off point at crucial moments whilst he pushes the wrong sections past the point of no return. For fans it's a shame to watch the most creative surfer on tour fluffing his lines. © 2013 Lucia Griggi

RIP CURL PRO SEARCH SAN FRANCISCO ROUND 3 RESULTS: Heat 1: Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 13.40 def. Taj Burrow (AUS) 13.00 Heat 2: Taylor Knox (AUS) 14.60 def. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 14.57 Heat 3: Kieren Perrow (AUS) 14.10 def. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 11.43 Heat 4: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 15.37 def. Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 5.36 Heat 5: Miguel Pupo (BRA) 11.87 def. Adrian Buchan (AUS) 11.50 Heat 6: Kelly Slater (USA) 15.13 def. Daniel Ross (AUS) 14.40 Heat 7: Owen Wright (AUS) 17.54 def. Adam Melling (AUS) 12.43 Heat 8: Alejo Muniz (BRA) 15.10 def. Raoni Monteiro (BRA) 14.40 Heat 9: Brett Simpson (USA) 16.97 def. Julian Wilson (AUS) 10.50 Heat 10: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 13.87 def. Chris Davidson (AUS) 6.50 RIP CURL PRO SEARCH SAN FRANCISCO ROUND 2 RESULTS: Heat 5: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 12.00 def. Dane Reynolds (USA) 9.17 Heat 6: Kieren Perrow (AUS) 16.34 def. Mick Fanning (AUS) 12.17 Heat 7: Josh Kerr (AUS) 10.10 def. Travis Logie (ZAF) 9.33 Heat 8: Brett Simpson (USA) 16.37 def. Damien Hobgood (USA) 14.37 Heat 9: Miguel Pupo (BRA) 16.43 def. Kai Otton (AUS) 8.87 Heat 10: Raoni Monteiro (BRA) 14.66 def. Dusty Payne (HAW) 10.86 Heat 11: Tiago Pires (PRT) 14.33 def. John John Florence (HAW) Heat 12: Taylor Knox (USA) 15.73 def. Jadson Andre (BRA) 12.40 © 2013 Lucia Griggi

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