Sports

After six, consecutive lay days, the Billabong Pro Mundaka sprang back to life on Monday, running the remaining eight Round 1 heats at the backup venue of Sopelana before completing the whole of Round 2 at the primary site of Mundaka.

Event No. 8 of 10 on the 2009 ASP World Tour, the Billabong Pro Mundaka had no shortage of action today, opting to run the dual-heat format for Round 2, resulting in some incendiary performances and major shakeups on the ASP World Tour ratings.

Basque surfer and local hero Aritz Aranburu fell short in a tight heat against Australia''s Taj Burrow. Burrow had posted 6.50 and 6.33 for a total of 12.83. With less than 3 minutes left, the Basque surfer had posted 7.67 and 4.17 so he needed get at least 5.17 to move to Round 3. He had one last chance but he fell short and got just 5. 03.

Mick Fanning, former ASP World Champion (2007), usurped former frontrunner Joel Parkinson in the race for the 2009 ASP World Title. Surfing in overlapping heats, Parkinson was eliminated with an Equal 17th place finish (his third consecutive) before Fanning took down David Weare to advance through to the third round. The advancement moves Fanning 44 points ahead of Parkinson on the ASP World Tour ratings.

"I’m not thinking about it (ASP World Title) at all," Fanning said. "It’s just one heat. If you want to win the World Title, you have to win heats and that’s all I’m working on. I''ve got a long way to go. It''s unfortunate for Joel (Parkinson) that he got another bad result, but he''s still right there and it''s going to come down to the wire."

Having won the last two ASP World Tour events, Fanning''s momentum is nigh untouchable at present, and the powerful natural-footer is keen to keep competition going at Mundaka''s punchy lefthanders.

Fanning battles goofy-footer Fredrick Patacchia (HAW), 27, in Round 3 of the Billabong Pro Mundaka.

Drew Courtney (AUS), 30, 2009 ASP Dream Tour rookie and current ASP World No. 38, caused the upset of the event, eliminating then-ASP World No. 1 Joel Parkinson (AUS), 28, in Round 2 of competition.

Courtney will take on Kai Otton (AUS), 29, when competition resumes.

Kelly Slater (USA), 37, reigning nine-time ASP World Champion and current ASP World No. 5, was in sensational form after suffering a near-debilitating knee injury.

"I wouldn''t have surfed if we ran yesterday," Slater said. "I haven''t surfed since my last heat in Hossegor. I hurt my knee –my Ilio-tibial band is super tight and it rubbed against the knee so much that it’s bruised. I have inflammation in my knee. Two days ago, I couldn''t walk. Yesterday, I got on these anti-inflammatory patches that make it feel better. I drove straight from France and jumped in the water."

Despite the setback, Slater netted the day’s high heat total of a 17.84 out of a possible 20 for a inspired backhand assault on Mundaka’s roping lefthanders.

"It actually felt okay," Slater said. "The first two waves I got, I was kind of scared to go hard on it. Towards the end, it loosened up and I felt confident going through those motions."

Slater will face Tom Whitaker (AUS), 30, in Round 3 of the Billabong Pro Mundaka.