Competition Intensifies at Australian Open of Surfing

Joan Duru (France), who posted the only perfect ten-point ride of the event – thus far – yesterday. “Conditions are definitely tricky, but there’s some room for big clean turns if you get the right wall,” said Carmichael. “I’ve found that you need to get those clean double up waves and time the sections properly. If the waves stay the same, I’ll be sticking to the same plan tomorrow.” Mateia Hiquily (Tahiti) showed why he was the 2015 Australian Open of Surfing runner-up performing a barrage of mammoth backside hooks on the punchy righthanders. The light-weight goofy footer flew over a series of tricky and flat sections in the heat and as a result, posted a 13.67 heat total and booked his spot into the fourth round where he’s set to face Kalani Ball (Stanwell Park, NSW) and Deivid Silva (Brazil). “I’m treating every heat like it’s a final,” said Hiquily. “I have a really good board under my feet and the confidence is building with every heat I surf. The waves are massively different to last year, so my gameplan has changed a little, but if you find the right waves there’s still some decent opportunities to get some decent scores.” Local standout Cooper Chapman (Narrabeen) continued to eliminate top-seeds from the event, eliminating 2016 World Championship Tour debutant Kanoa Igarashi (USA) from the event. Chapman took a progressive approach into the round three battle performing a range of giant aerial manoeuvres and was rewarded with a 16.83 heat total. “I’m feeling pretty comfortable out there in the Manly lineup,” said Chapman. “Over the last few heats, I’ve found there’s a fair few opportunities to put decent scores on the board for combinations of turns and it seems to be working so far. At this stage though, there’s no easy heats, so I’m just trying to remain focused and get through one heat at a time.” Defending women’s champion Laura Enever (Narrabeen, NSW) took out one of the most stacked heats of the event, claiming victory over former World Champion Sofia Mulanovich (Peru) and current World Junior Champion Isabella Nichols (Coolum, Qld). Enever dropped an excellent 9.40 wave score and edged ahead of Nichols to win the seesaw battle. Both surfers are advancing through to tomorrow’s fifth round. “Coming back to an event as defending champion is foreign ground for me,” said Enever. “I have just been trying to enjoy the ride in this event and not give up until the end. Being at home for an event is definitely a good feeling.” Check back tomorrow at www.worldsurfleague.com or on Fox Sports TV as we continue deeper into the draw, or check the WSL App. [caption id="attachment_18255" align="aligncenter" width="1608"] 2015 Australian Open of Surfing Women’s champion Laura Enever will be looking to go back-to-back at this years event : WSL/Bennett[/caption]]]>