Kelly Slater's quest for a tenth world championship is already looking a little tougher after Slater was knocked out of the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast in the third round Sunday. Twenty-year-old wildcard Julian Wilson defeated the 9x world champ, 15.33 to 13.84, thanks to his second-to-last wave score of 8.50. Slater's best score was a 7.67.
Slater is notoriously elusive when it comes to talking about his plans for the season, but after starting the '08 season with a win at the Gold Coast, it was no surprise to see him follow that contest up with another appearance (and win). No word yet from Slater on his status for the second event of the season, the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach.
Slater's upset was the only real story of the day, which saw former world champ Mick Fanning advance, along with Joel Parkinson, CJ Hobgood, Damien Hobgood and Jeremy Flores.
Eight heats of round three remain to be run with three days left in the contest period.
For more about the contest, visit the official site.
QUIKSILVER PRO GOLD COAST ROUND 3 RESULTS:
Heat 1: C.J. Hobgood (USA) 16.50 def. Dustin Barca (HAW) 6.50
Heat 2: Jihad Khodr (BRA) 18.26 def. Kieren Perrow (AUS) 16.30
Heat 3: Chris Davidson (AUS) 13.67 def. Dayyan Neve (AUS) 8.27
Heat 4: Joel Parkinson (AUS) 18.50 def. Tiago Pires (PRT) 14.50
Heat 5: Mick Fanning (AUS) 18.10 def. Kekoa Bacalso (HAW) 14.50
Heat 6: Jeremy Flores (FRA) 12.83 def. Nic Muscroft (AUS) 11.07
Heat 7: Damien Hobgood (AUS) 14.34 def. Heitor Alves (BRA) 9.00
Heat 8: Julian Wilson (AUS) 15.33 def. Kelly Slater (USA) 13.84
REMAINING QUIKSILVER PRO GOLD COAST ROUND 3 MATCH-UPS:
Heat 9: Bede Durbidge (AUS) vs. Jay Thompson (AUS)
Heat 10: Taylor Knox (USA) vs. Jordy Smith (ZAF)
Heat 11: Adriano de Souza (BRA) vs. Greg Emslie (ZAF)
Heat 12: Fredrick Patacchia (HAW) vs. Josh Kerr (AUS)
Heat 13: Taj Burrow (AUS) vs. Drew Courtney (AUS)
Heat 14: Dane Reynolds (USA) vs. Roy Powers (HAW0
Heat 15: Adrian Buchan (AUS) vs. Tim Boal (FRA)
Heat 16: Tom Whitaker (AUS) vs. David Weare (ZAF)
