A near-perfect score was not enough to save South Coast surfer Sally Fitzgibbons from an early exit at the World Surf League season-opener at Snapper Rocks.
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Fitzgibbons nailed a 9.63, but was outpointed by Silvana Lima, who replied with a perfect 10 to sneak through 17.73 to 16.96.
The 24-year-old had been forced into sudden-death after losing a heat featuring Malia Manuel.
Defending world champion Steph Gilmore and Brazilian pocket rocket Lima will meet in the quarter-finals of the Roxy Pro on the Gold Coast, incredibly the third time the pair will battle it out already this tournament.
So far the ledger stands at 1-1, with Lima toppling Gilmore in Saturday’s opening round before the 27-year-old Australian hit back on Thursday with victory in a third-round heat.
That win didn’t come easily for Gilmore who, just like in her second round elimination heat on Tuesday, had to pull out a last-gasp 9.00 ride to pip Lima for a quarter-final berth.
That last-minute wave gave Gilmore a two-wave score of 15.83, beating Lima by just 0.43.
Lima, the 30-year-old tour veteran who is on the comeback trail from a knee injury, didn’t take long to bounce back.
Just over an hour later she wowed the crowd at Snapper Rocks, scoring a perfect 10 in a thrilling fourth-round match-up against Fitzgibbons.
The Australian had herself opened with a 9.63 in the heat and the pair traded scores in the dying seconds before Lima finished with a combined 17.73 out of 20 to beat Fitzgibbons’ 16.96.
For Gilmore, the result was hardly what she would have been hoping for.
‘‘It’s always pretty difficult to beat her,’’ Gilmore said.
‘‘It’s not exactly someone you want to come up against in a quarter-final but we’ll see what happens.’’
Lima, whose powerful aerials and low centre of gravity appear to be working to her advantage in the small Snapper swell, doesn’t seem fazed by matching up again with the six-times world champion.
‘‘She’s always doing the best, always looking for the world title all the time,’’ Lima said.
‘‘I love getting Steph all the time. She’s always pushing me up ... it takes it to another level when we surf together.’’
Following an action-packed day at Snapper Rocks, only one other Australian remains standing in the women’s draw, dual championship runner-up Tyler Wright.
The Culburra product overcame American pair Courtney Conlogue and Coco Ho in her third round to move into the quarter-finals where she’ll meet Conlogue again after she eliminated young Victorian Nikki Van Dijk in the fourth round.