Australian surfing star Sally Fitzgibbons signalled her Olympic intentions and rocketed to No.2 in the world rankings after winning the WSL event at Rottnest Island.
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With the Tokyo Games looming and surfing included for the first time, Fitzgibbons dominated her all-Australian semi-final against Tyler Wright on Tuesday morning, and backed it up in the decider to beat Frenchwoman Johanne Defay 15.24 to 11.23.
The result saw 30-year-old Fitzgibbons rise from sixth to second in the rankings, putting her in a good position to finish in the top five and qualify for the new-look WSL title decider at the end of the year as she chases a long-sought maiden world title.
"It feels so good to be back in that winning circle," said Fitzgibbons, whose last WSL triumph was at the Rio Pro in June 2019.
"I'm just exhausted. I gave it everything.
"I've set those goals (of finishing in the top five) all year and just quietly gone about them. I believe it's possible."
Wright, who opted against a warm-up surf before the semi-final, struggled for fluency throughout the heat and fell over a remarkable seven times.
The 27-year-old two-time world champion could only manage a two-wave total of 7.64, far short of Fitzgibbons' 15.43.
Defay upset four-time world champion and current world No.1 Carissa Moore in the other semi-final, but fell short of Fitzgibbons in the decider.
Fitzgibbons, who hails from Gerroa in NSW, felt the conditions at Rottnest suited her.
"To wake up and there's so much energy in the swell, it was such a pleasure to be out there and try to crack the code," she told the WSL broadcast.
"It's got a few similarities to a bunch of different waves at home. So I kept telling myself 'oh, there's a section out front of my house'.
"And I try to accelerate off the bottom and trust my instincts. On a few of them there's some pretty crazy ends."
Moore entered her semi-final as a hot favourite to progress, and boasting a 7-1 head-to-head record against Defay.
But it was Defay who set the early pace, and her late 8.83 wave secured the win 13.50 to 12.83. AAP
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