Dreams do come true for ol' man Slater and voluptuous Dane Reynolds…
It was a brilliant, wind-swept day under a sailboat sky in the Mamanuca Islands. And, yes, the headline is true!
Kelly Slater dumped quicklime on Fred Pattachia Jnr is round three with an almost perfect heat total and Dane Reynolds, whose golden muscles writhed like golden snakes in the water, sprinted through tube after tube and took world number one Adriano de Souza to the exit, also with a total almost perfect.
The look on Adriano’s face! It looked awful, all that strain and pressure. He squeezed his brow between his palms like he was treating a bad headache. His eyes bucked wide and he trembled to speak.
Here’s Dane, on just one wave.
And Kelly, a nine-nine…
Highlights? Yes!
Quote of the day: “I feel bad for Adriano… I didn’t earn my spot here, I was given it by whoever decides that, and so it’s a little bit funny. They (the top 34) dedicate their lives to it. But I’m here to defend, I don’t wanna say my reputation, but someone gave me the place here and I want to defend their decision. Without the rankings mattering to me, and it meaning so much to them, it’s heartbreaking. They’re trying to win world titles.”
| Fiji Pro Round 2 Results:Heat 1: Adriano de Souza (BRA) 13.50 def. Inia Nakalevu (FJI) 6.87
Heat 2: Filipe Toledo (BRA) 10.70 def. Aca Ravulo (FJI) 8.86
Heat 3: Dane Reynolds (USA) 15.00 def. Josh Kerr (AUS) 14.10
Heat 4: Kelly Slater (USA) 18.70 def. Jay Davies (AUS) 9.47
Heat 5: Owen Wright (AUS) 10.10 def. Aritz Aranburu (ESP) 9.03
Heat 6: Julian Wilson (AUS) 12.93 def. C.J. Hobgood (USA) 10.67
Heat 7: Bede Durbidge (AUS) 15.67 def. Dusty Payne (HAW) 12.70
Heat 8: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 17.00 def. Glenn Hall (IRL) 8.87
Heat 9: Adam Melling (AUS) 17.60 def. Matt Wilkinson (AUS) 12.50
Heat 10: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) 12.27 def. Miguel Pupo (BRA) 5.70
Heat 11: Jeremy Flores (AUS) 17.70 def. Ricardo Christie (NZL) 17.47
Heat 12: Kolohe Andino (USA) 16.70 def. Matt Banting (AUS) 12.30
Fiji Pro Round 3 Results:
Heat 1: Taj Burrow (AUS) 13.16 def. Keanu Asing (HAW) 6.36
Heat 2: Julian Wilson (AUS) 13.93 def. Kolohe Andino (USA) 13.34
Heat 3: Kelly Slater (USA) 18.57 def. Fredrick Patacchia Jr. (HAW) 10.17
Heat 4: Wiggolly Dantas (BRA) 15.36 def. Nat Young (USA) 13.94
Heat 5: Italo Ferreira (BRA) 12.93 def. Jadson Andre (BRA) 11.80
Heat 6: Dane Reynolds (USA) 18.34 def. Adriano de Souza (BRA) 13.64
Upcoming Fiji Pro Round 3 Match-Ups:
Heat 7: Mick Fanning (AUS) vs. Alejo Muniz (BRA)
Heat 8: Joel Parkinson (AUS) vs. Sebastian Zietz (HAW)
Heat 9: Owen Wright (AUS) vs. Adrian Buchan (AUS)
Heat 10: Gabriel Medina (BRA) vs. Kai Otton (AUS)
Heat 11: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Jeremy Flores (FRA)
Heat 12: Filipe Toledo (BRA) vs. Adam Melling (AUS)
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And this is why Dane is the man!
“Whoever decided” to offer Dane the wildcard certainly ain’t Brazilian.