Newcastle’s Morgan Cibilic was one of three Australians to book a spot in the quarter-final of the Rip Curl Rottnest Search presented by Corona this morning.
Although fellow Novocastrian Ryan Callinan fell by the wayside earlier in the week, the Merewether-based youngster mastered the fifth stop on the 2001 World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT) at Rottnest Island, Western Australia.
Only the first three heats of the men’s round of 16 were completed on Friday 21 May before organisers called off the competition due to the lack of swell on offer at Strickland Bay.
But, 2021 CT rookie Cibilic continued his epic maiden-year run, booking himself a spot in the quarter-final after a win over Italian Leonardo Fioravanti.
His tight frontside hacks and explosive backside re-entries continue to wow in the waves at Stickland Bay and, today, was no different as he captured the showdown 12.50 to 10.77.
The opening heat of the day saw two of the CT’s most experienced campaigners and perennial title threats Julian Wilson (AUS) and Jordy Smith (ZAF) go head-to-head.
There was a lot on the line for both surfers with Wilson still searching for his first finals appearance of the season, while Smith was hoping to back up his runner-up finish at Margaret River with another solid result at Rottnest.
It was a battle of tactics between the two with Wilson coming out on top.
He found the better set waves and leaned on some of the progression he is so well-known for to take the victory.
“I feel like I’ve gotten over a big lump just there,” Wilson said.
“To let Jordy go on that wave at the end then have a really nice one come to me felt so good.
“It was fun to look for those sections on the right and go for some big airs.
“I’ve been looking at the rights for that all week and have only had a couple of good ones and I’ll continue to look at them for the remainder of the event.
“I’m excited to throw some airs and make some big scores.
“I’m really happy with how well my strategy worked and just happy to win that heat.”
With a more promising forecast for tomorrow morning (Saturday 22 May), another call will be made at 7.15am AWST to resume the remaining heats of the round of 16.
Rip Curl Rottnest Search men’s round of 16 (H1-3) results:
- HEAT 1: Julian Wilson (AUS) 13.00 DEF. Jordy Smith (ZAF) 11.20
- HEAT 2: Morgan Cibilic (AUS) 12.50 DEF. Leonardo Fioravanti (ITA) 10.77
- HEAT 3: Liam O’Brien (AUS) 10.83 DEF. Seth Moniz (HAW) 8.10
Rip Curl Rottnest Search Remaining men’s round of 16 (H4-8) match-ups:
- HEAT 4: Michel Bourez (FRA) vs. Miguel Pupo (BRA)
- HEAT 5: Gabriel Medina (BRA) vs. Owen Wright (AUS)
- HEAT 6: Conner Coffin (USA) vs. Mikey Wright (AUS)
- HEAT 7: Italo Ferreira (BRA) vs. Adriano de Souza (BRA)
- HEAT 8: Yago Dora (BRA) vs. Connor O’Leary (AUS)
Rip Curl Rottnest Search women’s quarter-final match-ups:
- HEAT 1: Malia Manuel (HAW) vs. Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS)
- HEAT 2: Nikki Van Dijk (AUS) vs. Tyler Wright (AUS)
- HEAT 3: Carissa Moore (HAW) vs. Isabella Nichols (AUS)
- HEAT 4: Johanne Defay (FRA) vs. Amuro Tsuzuki (JPN)
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