Torquay, Apr 25: The semi-final lineup of the 31st Rip Curl Pro World Championship Surfing Tournament was decided on Thursday (April 24). In wind-affected 1 to 1.5 metre surf at Johanna Beach, world number five Mick Fanning was the first to reach the semi-finals of the second round of the 2003 world championships. The 21-year-old Australian maintained his great form of the previous ten day to beat world number 34 Guilherme Herdy in the quarter final, with a score of 16.33 out of a possible 20 points to the Brazilian's 13.27. Fanning, the 2001 Rip Curl Pro champion, now meets Hawaiian Andy Irons in the first semi final. World champion Irons, currently holds a 3-1 winning record over the young Australian. The 24-year-old Irons was also in exceptional form on Thursday, having to surf twice. He first beating Brazilian Neco Padaratz, ranked 21, in round four before overcoming Australian Mark Occhilupo. Irons' quarter-final meeting with Occhilupo produced the day's highest scoring clash with the American surfer finally winning 16.83-14.23.


Occhilupo, professional surfing's oldest competitor at 36, had perhaps peaked earlier in the day with his fourth round win over six-times world champion Kelly Slater, in an incredible comeback.


Just after the halfway mark of that heat, Slater had established a commanding lead, with Occhilupo needing a combination of two good rides to overtake the American.


With less than 10 minutes left, Occhilupo clawed his way into contention with a 7.83, and with five minutes remaining, put himself in front with a ride that scored 7.4, to win by less than a point - scoring 15.23 for his best two rides, against Slater's 14.70.


Slater was undoubtedly lucky to be surfing at all on Thursday after the car he was driving collided with a kangaroo on the way to Johanna.


Australia's 2002 world title runner-up Joel Parkinson, another 21-year-old from the Gold Coast, produced the best heat score of the event so far in his fourth round match as he demolishing three-time Bells champion Sunny Garcia.


Parkinson was so superior to Garcia that, with ten minutes remaining in the 30-minute heat, the 33-year-old Hawaiian left the water, conceding he had no hope of matching the Australian's best two rides - a 9.37 and an 8.9.


Parkinson continued to progress later in the day with a comfortable 15.73-13.33 quarter-final win over Florida's Shea Lopez, the world number 11.


Parkison's semi-final opponent with be another Floridian, 2001 world champion CJ Hobgood.


Hobgood beat Australian world number seven Kieren Perrow, with his semi-final berth easily his best result in his five visits to the Rip Curl Pro.


Organisers will hope to complete the tournament on Friday, at either Bells or Johanna, depending on conditions at each location at dawn.

The first prize is 50,000 U.S. dollars. Quarter final results: QF1: Mick Fanning (Australia) 16.33; Guilherme Herdy (Brazil) 13.27 QF2: Andy Irons (United States) 16.83; Mark Occhilupo (Austalia) 14.23 QF3: Joel Parkinson (Austalia) 15.73; Shea Lopez (United States) 13.33 QF4: CJ Hobgood (United States) 17.24; Kieren Perrow (Australia) 9.57


Round Four Heats: H3: Occhilupo 15.23; Kelly Slater (USA) 14.70 H4: Irons 17.74; Neco Padaratz (Brz) 13.66 H5: Parkinson 18.27; Sunny Garcia (Hawaii) 4.00 H6: Lopez 14.73; Daniel Wills (Australia) 13.46 H7: Hobgood 14.5; Darren O'Rafferty (Australia) 12.6 H8: Perrow (Australia) 10.66; Phil McDonald (Australia) 10.0


Bureau Report