Kelly Slater & Sally Fitzgibbons win Nike US Open

Kelly Slater © ASP / Rowland

Nike US Open of Surfing

ASP Prime Men's event
ASP Women's World Tour event
ASP 4-Star Pro Junior Men's event
Huntington Beach California
30 July - 7 August 2011

Live Coverage | Results/Photos/Videos etc | Slideshow

Kelly defeats Yadin while Sally ousts Lakey to claim crowns

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 7 August, 2011 : - - Huntington Beach -- Reigning 10-Time ASP World Champion Kelly Slater (Cocoa Beach, FL), 39, has won the 2011 ASP PRIME Nike US Open of Surfing for the first time since 1996, defeating Yadin Nicol (AUS), 26, in a dominant final in two-to-four foot (1 metre) waves at the iconic Huntington Beach Pier.

Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), 20, was also victorious when she clinched the final stop on the 2011 ASP Women’s World Title series, the Nike US Open of Surfing, when she topped dangerous wildcard Lakey Peterson (Santa Barbara, CA), 16, in a hard-fought battle.

Slater quickly asserted his dominance in the Final against Nicol when he launched a frontside air-reverse and solidified the ride on the reform to earn an 8.50 and backed the ride up with a 7.77 to put the Australian in an early combination-situation and controlled the heat throughout the entirety of the bout.

“I guess Yadin (Nicol) wanted me to win because he didn’t catch any waves,” Slater said. “I was just really frustrated for him because he was sitting out the back waiting for the big sets and the big sets were close outs. The small ones he was just two far outside and I got them. I think what happened is I got the 8.50 to start and he was just going to be patient. If he got a good one he would have thrown a big rotator, but it just never came.”

Dusty Payne © ASP / Rowland

Slater went on an absolute rampage on the final day of competition and fought his way back into a tough battle to overtake progressive Hawaiian Dusty Payne (Lahaina, HI), 22, by launching a hail-mary, no-grab backside 360 air. The massive punt garnered the highest single-wave score of Nike US Open of Surfing competition, 9.77 out of 10, as well as the highest heat-total of 17.94 out of 20.

“Dusty (Payne) had priority and he had gone on a couple of lefts that kind of fizzled out on him and he was probably thinking that left was going to do the same thing his other ones did,” Slater said. “It just let me get going on the face enough and I just tried to rotate as hard as I could and somehow the board stuck to my feet.”

Nicol fought hard throughout the entirety of the ASP PRIME competition, taking out dangerous South African Royden Bryson (ZAF), 28, and prodigious Californian Kolohe Andino (San Clemente, CA), 17, on the Final day of competition, but struggled to find a wave in the Final against Slater.

“Kelly started off strong with the 8.5 and I thought I’d wait for a good wave and I think I waited too long,” Nicol said. “At the start of this week I wouldn’t have thought that I’d be in the Final with Kelly. I love it. Sometimes things work out and you make the Final and I’m stoked, I’m over the moon.”

Yadin Nicol © ASP / Rowland

Yadin, who was rated No. 36 entering the US Open of Surfing, now sits at 27th on the ASP World Rankings, moving him inside the coveted ASP Top 32 midyear cut for the halfway mark of the year, but with two events remaining on the ASP World Title Season, Nicol remained guarded in claiming his spot for the final elite events.

“There are still two World Tour events to go so it doesn’t completely change my life just yet,” Nicol said. “It definitely helps the vibe though.”

Fitzgibbons, who finished second on the ASP Women’s World Title Series, was strong on both her forehand and backhand in the final and fought off the determined wildcard to clinch her third elite event on to finish her 2011 season.

“It’s such an unbelievable feeling to get chaired up the beach,” Fitzgibbons said. “There is just a sea of people and it’s one of my biggest achievements. To get three wins this year, it has been a really special year and although I didn’t get the title, I can’t believe I’ve won this event.”

Sally Fitzgibbons © ASP / Rowland

Fitzgibbons feels that there is more to come for the highly-talked about progressive movement in women’s surfing and wildcards such as Lakey Peterson are a perfect example of the future of the sport.

“Today was just about connecting the dots and stepping it up,” Fitzgibbons said. “I think the future is bright for our sport. Lakey (Peterson) is only 16 and she was in both finals in this event it was a great week for her, but to get the win was an amazing way to cap off the year.”

Peterson proved to be a giant killer throughout the entirety of the Women’s Nike US Open of Surfing, taking wins over veteran Melanie Bartels (HAW), 28, ASP Women’s World Title Rookies Tyler Wright (AUS), 17, and Laura Enever (AUS), 19, as well as freshly crowned ASP Women’s World Champion Carissa Moore but was unable to find the scores needed to surpass Fitzgibbons in the Final.

“I’m stoked with the way this week has turned out,” Peterson said. “It was an honor to surf against Sally (Fitzgibbons) and I’m really happy to make the Final in my first World Tour event.”

Lakey Peterson © ASP Rowland

Peterson, who won the ASP 4-Star Nike US Open of Surfing Pro Junior yesterday, asserted herself as a frontrunner among the progressive movement of women’s surfing via dominant run at the Nike US Open of Surfing. The young Californian was the only competitor to put a stop to Moore’s run of finaling in every ASP Top 17 contest this season when she topped the Hawaiian in their Semifinals matchup.

“Winning yesterday was what I wanted to do, to win in the Juniors and do well in this event,” Peterson said. “My heat against Carissa (Moore) felt like no pressure and I just wanted to go for it and I’m just so excited to win that heat. I’ve always wanted to surf against Carissa. She really pushes my surfing to the next level and is an amazing friend.”

Highlights from the 2011 Nike US Open of surfing can be found at usopenofsurfing.com. The Nike US Open of Surfing was a massive action sports festival which also includes Skate, BMX, Art, Music and Fashion shows all of which are free to the public.

Taj Burrow © ASP / Rowland

Nike US Open of Surfing Men’s Final Result:
1 – Kelly Slater (USA) 16.27
2 – Yadin Nicol (AUS) 2.57

Nike US Open of Surfing Men’s Semifinals Results:
SF 1: Kelly Slater (USA) 17.94 def. Dusty Payne (HAW) 14.90
SF 2: Yadin Nicol (AUS) 13.44 def. Kolohe Andino (USA) 12.87

Nike US Open of Surfing Men’s Quarterfinals Results:
QF 1: Dusty Payne (HAW) 13.93 def. Tanner Gudauskas (USA) 10.10
QF 2: Kelly Slater (USA) 15.50 def. Taj Burrow (AUS) 15.27
QF 3: Kolohe Andino (USA) 10.44 def. Dane Reynolds (USA) 10.33
QF 4: Yadin Nicol (AUS) 11.60 def. Royden Bryson (ZAF) 8.26

Check the Full Men's Results

Nike US Open of Surfing Women’s Final Result:
1 – Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 14.23
2 – Lakey Peterson (USA) 12.40

Nike US Open of Surfing Women’s Semifinals Results:
SF 1: Lakey Peterson (USA) 14.67 def. Carissa Moore (HAW) 14.60
SF 2: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 14.46 def. Coco Ho (HAW) 14.16

Check the Full Women's Results

Mens World Tour Rankings

1	Slater,Kelly	USA	67500
2	Smith,Jordy	ZAF	52000
3	Fanning,Mick	AUS	46642
4	Flores,Jeremy	FRA	39870
5	Burrow,Taj	AUS	39797
6	Buchan,Adrian	AUS	39242
7	Wright,Owen	AUS	37400
8	Parkinson,Joel	AUS	37207
9	Durbidge,Bede	AUS	36013
10	Hobgood,Damien	USA	35320
11	Bourez,Michel	PYF	35250
12	De Souza,Adriano	BRA	34750
13	Wilson,Julian	AUS	31383
14	Reynolds,Dane	USA	28020
15	Perrow,Kieren	AUS	27900
16	Gudauskas,Patrick	USA	27770
17	Muniz,Alejo	BRA	27499
18	Hobgood,C.J.	USA	25200
19	Alves,Heitor	BRA	25095
20	Medina,Gabriel	BRA	24758
21	Davidson,Chris	AUS	24557
22	Wilkinson,Matt	AUS	24200
23	Andre,Jadson	BRA	24190
24	Pires,Tiago	PRT	23423
25	Monteiro,Raoni	BRA	23001
26	Ross,Daniel	AUS	22956
27	Nicol,Yadin	AUS	22701
28	Kerr,Josh	AUS	22565
29	Pupo,Miguel	BRA	22349
30	Payne,Dusty	HAW	21975
31	Simpson,Brett	USA	21834
32	Knox,Taylor	USA	21000
33	Melling,Adam	AUS	20957
34	Cardoso,Willian	BRA	19393
35	Florence,John John	HAW	19128
36	Otton,Kai	AUS	18642
37	Whitaker,Tom	AUS	18297
38	Gudauskas,Tanner	USA	17788
39	Mendes,Jesse	BRA	17622
40	Lopez,Cory	USA	17074
41	Larsen,Granger	HAW	16545
42	Christie,Richard	NZL	16182
43	Patacchia,Fredrick	HAW	15547
44	Logie,Travis	ZAF	15518
45	Atkinson,Dion	AUS	15449
46	Kling,Gabe	USA	15229
47	Faria,Junior	BRA	14315
48	Martinez,Bobby	USA	14103
49	Bettero,Hizunome	BRA	12965
50	Stairmand,Billy	NZL	12624
51	Boal,Tim	FRA	12381
52	Andino,Kolohe	USA	12052
53	Aranburu,Aritz	EUK	12012