Australian surfing star Stephanie Gilmore, 26, watches the water before paddling out. Source: Luke Marsden / News Corp Australia
THE surfer they call Happy Gilmore is smiling again.
After an ordinary season last year and a sluggish start to her 2014 campaign, five-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore looks to have her mojo back.
Gilmore, who at 26 is the oldest surfer on the women's world tour, on Tuesday surged into the quarter-finals of the Roxy Pro season-opener at Snapper Rocks.
In an ominous sign, Hawaiian world champion Carissa Moore top-scored for the day with an incredible 19.50 points out of a possible 20.
Four-time Roxy Pro winner Gilmore had been facing sudden-death elimination after an interference blunder relegated her to last place in her opening round heat but she burst back into calculations with a vintage display of power and grace.
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After a nervous start to her Round 2 heat, Gilmore survived a nail-biting battle with exciting Victorian rookie Niki Van Dijk before comfortably winning her third round heat over in-form Hawaiian Courtney Conlogue and Kiwi Paige Hareb.
The Gold Coast golden girl now meets Conlogue, who was on fire on Tuesday with two near-perfect Round 2 rides, in the quarters.
"I was definitely more relaxed than in Round 2,'' said Gilmore, who surrendered the world title to Moore last year and finished a distant fifth in the world rankings.
"You know you can't lose (in the third round), so some sort of calmness comes over you and you can piece together a good heat.
"Courtney's dangerous, so I knew I just had to put 200 per cent into every single turn, every single wave. That's what I tried to do.''
An Instagram image of Stephanie Gilmore at the Roxy Pro at Snapper Rocks Source: Supplied
Moore was the day's standout performer, blasting fellow Hawaiian Malia Manuel and Frenchwoman Pauline Ado out of the water with two near-perfect rides that had some commentators calling it the best display ever by a female surfer.
Moore's surfing was so scintillating she was able to discard a 9.57-point ride as part of her two-wave score after bettering it with a 9.60 and a 9.90.
Defending Roxy Pro champion Tyler Wright, runner-up for last year's world title, and world No.2 Sally Fitzgibbons are also through to the quarter-finals.
Wright will meet South Africa's world No.8 Bianca Buitendag while Fitzgibbons takes on American Lakey Peterson.
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