Slater has finishing touch

If there were doubts about Kelly Slater’s desire, as he guns for a ninth world title, they evaporated as quickly as the fog that rolled in briefly Saturday afternoon along the San Clemente coast.

The grayness gave way to sunshine during the quarterfinals, as Slater was elevating to another plane and disposing of Taylor Knox in what was far and away the most thrilling heat of the Boost Mobile Pro at Lower Trestles.

“It just seemed right,” said Slater, 35, who cruised through the semifinals and held off Pancho Sullivan in an anticlimactic final to become the winningest surfer in the 31-year history of the Assn. of Surfing Professionals.

“The fog blew off, the wind calmed down and it got glassy again,” Slater continued. “The sun came out and there was all this blue water and the swell was coming up and it was pretty magical.”

Slater’s first triumph of the season -- at the same spot where he logged his first victory in 1990 -- was also the 34th of his career, moving him past idol Tom Curren, who ruled the sport in the 1980s.

“We both started our career here so I could potentially throw in the towel and finish it today and still feel great,” Slater added.

However, the surfer from Cocoa Beach, Fla., who before the contest hinted that he may retire if he doesn’t win a ninth title, is in prime position to claim that championship and shoot for a 10th.

He advanced from fourth to second in the Foster’s ASP World Tour rankings, with four contests remaining, thanks in part to a wild week during which nine of the top 10 surfers fell by the wayside before the fourth round.

It was Slater’s fourth consecutive appearance in the final at Trestles, two of which turned into victories.

With four- to six-foot right-handers pumping in at the legendary point break, Slater and Knox traded spectacular rides until the former began pulling off smashing vertical top turns and near-impossible tail-slides to the cheers of about 5,000 spectators lining the cobbled beach.

He put Knox in a combo situation, needing 18.20 points, or two high scores, to catch his rival. Knox answered, however, with the event’s only perfect 10 and closed within striking range.

“At that point I was so far behind I didn’t have anything to lose,” said Knox, 36, of Carlsbad. “The wave just glassed off and I thought it was going to close out so I went for some big turns in the beginning. Then it just kept staying open and let me get all the way to the end.”

But Slater answered with an 8.2 to increase his lead and added a 9.0.

Slater then routed Tom Whitaker, 17.83-10.33, to advance to the final against Pancho Sullivan, a second-year World Tour surfer who had never made a final.

Having competed in three 30-minute heats during a marathon that began with the fourth round, both surfers were weary.

Slater fell on his first two waves and Sullivan caught a close-out before a long flat spell ensued.

Slater, however, caught two small waves scoring in the mid-5s and put Sullivan in a hole.

Sullivan, 34, fell on two left-handers and Slater added a 7.67 to close the scoring as another lull developed. The bell sounded as both surfers sat waiting for waves.

Slater will try to catch points leader Mick Fanning at the next event in France.

--

pete.thomas@latimes.com