It’s hard to speak on Mick Fanning’s behalf but when he found out his brother, Peter, had passed away it’s likely that he felt his own world title aspirations were somehow insignificant by way of comparison. However, life has dealt Mick Fanning his fair share of curve balls. His older brother Sean died tragically in a car accident when Mick was 17 and Mick was called on to break the news to his family. It seems if Mick has learnt anything, it’s that the best way to deal with despair is to somehow channel the energy derived from it into being a better person and a better performer.
“He’s the best human on the planet and I can’t wait to chair him up the beach,” commented Joel Parkinson when asked about what Mick had been forced to deal with today. Tragic as they are such events can also deliver those closely affected a peculiar kind of focus. There was an eerie similarity between Mick Fanning’s heart-wrenching performance today and Tom Carroll’s emphatic win in the 1991 Pipe Masters, the day after he had found out his sister died.
On a day when he was dealing with a melting pot of complex emotions Mick Fanning defeated the three best Pipeline surfers of the modern era – Jamie O’brien, Kelly Slater and and John John Florence, to keep his quest for a fourth world title alive. Any doubts about Mick’s capacity to handle the heady situation were quelled when he posted an 8.47 at Backdoor on his opening wave. It seemed Jamie O’s ego wouldn’t allow him to step down and fight Mick in the Pipe trenches.
Jamie adopted the bombs or nothing approach and ultimately floundered, forgetting that once you pull a singlet on it’s just about being the best guy for forty minutes.
However, a 12.14 (Mick’s combined score against Jamie) heat total was never going to suffice with both John John and Kelly in the same heat. It was like having Ali, Frazier and Tyson all in the ring together at Madison Square Garden with a last man standing rule, however after a full five minutes it seemed like it might be the ultimate fizzer. Bombs rolled through but they were all caught in the middle, out of position for both the left and the right.
Earlier in the day Kelly had been sashaying around the competitor’s area flanked by the president of the UFC, Dana White. Slater was in a mood to fight and despite not being in contention for a title he had his own agenda. Without a victory in two years Kelly wants to prove to himself and the world that he can still win at the highest level, and beyond that there is nothing he loves more than upstaging somebody else’s party – particularly when he’s riding one of his own Slater Designs shooters. Meanwhile John John has a major monkey on his back – as the Prince of Pipeline he has still never won a Pipe Masters and one senses this wracks him with self-doubt. If he can’t win what should be his pet event in his own backyard then it must be hard to feel confident about dominating around the world.
With so much at stake for all concerned something eventually had to go down. Once Kelly got all yoga-pliable as he grabbed rail and dragged through a deep, 8.17, left, it was on. Mick fired back fast with an 8.00 left hook of his own only to hear John John’s score read out at an ear-grating 9.83. on the wave of the heat. The stakes had been lifted and Mick knew that simply chipping away would be futile now that his rivals had their flow on. Smelling a quick two punch victory, Kelly free -fell into a backdoor sledgehammer, masterfully stalling up to exit after the spit and make things look so much more dramatic. The judges are attuned to his wily tricks however and realised that he just wasn’t that deep. Still, it was enough to leave Mick chasing a 7.5 in the back end of the heat.
When Mick ultimately came careening out of an ultra-deep left and stand-tall claimed it, only the most mean-spirited of audience members would have denied him the celebration. Next to me in the grandstand former pro and English Channel paddler, Buzzy Kerrbox, called foul on the 9.30 score. However, if you watch it back it’s clear that Mick’s only friend on the wave is the foam-ball and for a few moments it’s barrel riding by brail.
Going in to tomorrow’s final day Fanning’s form is not as frighteningly good as Gabriel’s but it’s certainly better than Adriano’s. To lock Gabriel out of the race, Mick only has to win his quarterfinal, but one ominous obstacle stands in his way – Kelly Slater. Slater’s agenda has been referenced above and relinquished from the pressures of world title contention he will be at liberty to surf with reckless abandon. Conversely this may in turn work against him. Slater himself said the other day that he is more focused on all the variables of a heat if he is chasing the title. In smaller, backdoor conditions Mick will be able to make it more of a brawl but has to be careful that he doesn’t shoot too low with his early rides and leave Kelly with position on that ONE wave that is always going to roll through.
Meanwhile Medina, despite his compelling form, can only hope that both Mick and Adriano lose in their quarterfinals tomorrow to give him a mathematical chance of claiming the title. If they do, there is little doubt that Medina has the momentum to go on and win the event, which he will need to do in order to claim the crown. “Brazil only has one real surfing superhero,” one of the Brazilian journalists was heard to comment today in reference to Gabriel. Gabby’s combined total for the two heats he surfed today was 31.14, higher than any of his world title rivals. Whether it’s CJ-inspired double-hand tube stalls or full-throttle backdoor drainers, Gabriel has every Pipe trick necessary to win the event. Tomorrow he will face his tube muse, CJ Hobgood, and despite CJ’s outstanding upset performance against John John in what is CJ’s final event, the smart money will still be on Gabriel.
Adriano, by his own admission, does not have the same skill level as his title rivals, at Pipe. His combined heat total was 23.67, significantly lower than Mick’s (29.44) and Gabriel’s. The ever-toiling Adriano looked overwhelmed with relief when he won his round four match up with
Adam Melling and Josh Kerr. Standing on the shoreline after coming in from his heat he looked up to the sky for a full ten seconds. If he was attributing some of his success to divine intervention he certainly played his part in the process. Adriano charged harder than ever before, taking some heavy punishment between the two mid-range scores that ultimately saw him progress. Post-heat he was quick to deflect focus from himself by acknowledging the efforts of Mick Fanning.
“Today was a blast for me to make those two heats. Today I learnt so much from Mick. What he did today; definitely he’s a true champ. To beat the best at Pipe, Jamie O’brien; to beat the best in the Pipe contest, Kelly Slater, and to beat the rockstar, John John Florence … He’s the best sportsman I’ve ever seen in decades besides Kelly Slater and I have to put my hat down to him … I have to learn from it. You know I’m happy with what happened today and thanks God for giving me the opportunity … ”
When asked about what he would be doing between now and tomorrow to stay focused on his dream, Adriano smiled contently and suggested that the toughest hurdles had been overcome.
“Basically, I think the hardest thing has happened already … It’s kind of hard to sleep when you hear about crazy, pumping big, Pipe … I feel comfortable. We have surfed fifteen foot Pipe and I got one of the best wave son the day, so I’m gonna relax … tomorrow maybe I’m going to catch the best wave of my life but it’s probably going to be small Pipe and Backdoor, so I think the hardest thing is over. ”
Adriano will face either Jeremy Flores or Josh Kerr tomorrow. Kerr has made the final at Pipe and Flores is a former Pipe Master. Adriano will be punching above his weight again but that’s kind of when he’s at his best. In very basic terms however, if Mick loses to Kelly then Adriano will paddle out in his quarterfinal knowing that he only needs to win one more heat and he is the world champion. Sports fans however would love nothing more than the opportunity to see Mick and Adriano in the final in a winner takes all scenario. If that’s the way it goes then there will be no denying that whoever claims victory will be a deserving champion.
All photos: Joli
BILLABONG PIPE MASTERS QUARTERFINAL MATCH-UPS:
QF 1: Gabriel Medina (BRA) vs. C.J. Hobgood (USA)
QF 2: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Kelly Slater (USA
QF 3: Mason Ho (HAW) vs. Adam Melling (AUS)
QF 4: Adriano de Souza (BRA) vs. TBD
BILLABONG PIPE MASTERS ROUND 5 RESULTS:
Heat 1: C.J. Hobgood (USA) 13.34 def. John John Florence (HAW) 9.76
Heat 2: Kelly Slater (USA) 17.07 def. Keanu Asing (HAW) 9.77
Heat 3: Adam Melling (AUS) 5.17 def. Joel Parkinson (AUS) 4.20
REMAINING BILLABONG PIPE MASTERS ROUND 5 MATCH-UP:
Heat 4
: Josh Kerr (AUS) vs. Jeremy Flores (FRA)
BILLABONG PIPE MASTERS ROUND 4 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 15.30, C.J. Hobgood (USA) 5.47, Keanu Asing (HAW) 4.27
Heat 2: Mick Fanning (AUS) 17.30, Kelly Slater (USA) 16.47, John John Florence (HAW) 15.16
Heat 3: Mason Ho (HAW) 16.23, Joel Parkinson (AUS) 15.03, Jeremy Flores (FRA) 10.24
Heat 4: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 13.67, Josh Kerr (AUS) 12.13, Adam Melling (AUS) 1.43
BILLABONG PIPE MASTERS ROUND 3 RESULTS:
Heat 1: Gabriel Medina (BRA) 15.84 def. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 4.50
Heat 2: Keanu Asing (HAW) 5.00 def. Bede Durbidge (AUS) 0.17
Heat 3: C.J. Hobgood (USA) 6.74 def. Italo Ferreira (BRA)
Heat 4: Kelly Slater (USA) 13.43 def. Michel Bourez (PYF) 7.00
Heat 5: Mick Fanning (AUS) 12.14 vs. Jamie O’Brien (HAW) 2.70
Heat 6: John John Florence (HAW) 19.93 def. Taj Burrow (AUS) 6.67
Heat 7: Mason Ho (HAW) 6.93 def. Filipe Toledo (BRA) 6.67
Heat 8: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 10.86 def. Kai Otton (AUS) 5.40
Heat 9: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 14.44 def. Sebastian Zeitz (HAW) 14.23
Heat 10: Adam Melling (AUS) 15.73 def. Julian Wilson (AUS) 15.16
Heat 11: Josh Kerr (AUS) 7.67 def. Adrian Buchan (AUS) 3.20
Heat 12: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 10.00 def. Glenn Hall (IRL) 4.70
