Slater Picks His Spot to Reach Third Round

Six-time world champion surfer Kelly Slater fell off his board a couple of times, then made the most of an opportunity to advance in the Boost Mobile Pro at Lower Trestles in San Clemente on Friday.

Slater, 30, who is back on the Assn. of Surfing Professionals World Championship Tour after a three-year hiatus, trailed Australian Lee Winkler most of the second-round elimination heat, and it appeared the clock might end any hopes Slater had to catch Winkler.

But Slater, from Cocoa Beach, Fla., grabbed a wave and scored an 8.0 out of a possible 10 with 40 seconds left in the heat to overtake the Australian and advance.

“He [Winkler] had priority, so I had to sneak one when he passed it up and surf it really hard,” Slater said.

“I was just trying to remember the old times, when I used to do that a lot.”

Slater is ranked No. 22 on the tour.

“That was a real indicator for me,” he said. “If I lost that heat, it was going to be a real bummer of a contest. It would have shot me down a bit, but I’m stoked.

“It gave me a lot of confidence. I was actually thinking this morning how at the last second I could get a wave and make it out of this round and then win a contest.”

Slater will face Kieren Perrow of Australia on Sunday in the third round.

Another key match on Sunday will be the event’s defending champion and current tour leader Andy Irons against San Clemente’s Shane Beschen, who was allowed to surf the event as a wild-card entrant.

Beschen won his first-round heat Thursday, when he defeated Mark Occhilupo and Dean Morrison.

There will be no competition today. Surfing will continue on Sunday at 8 a.m.

The quarterfinals, semifinals and finals will be Monday and Tuesday.