WILKO IN HUNT FOR RIO PRO RESULT
BYRON Bay surfer Matt Wilkinson’s chances of snaring a maiden world title are back on track after he survived a tense Round 2 match-up at the Rio Pro.
Wilkinson scraped through his heat against Leonardo Fioravanti after handing his rival priority in the dying seconds.
A wave failed to materialise before the buzzer but the Italian showed what he is capable of when he landed a 360degree air seconds after the heat officially finished.
With Fioravanti needing a score of only 4.5 to advance, Wilkinson was giving thanks to the wave gods that the swell had not materialised seconds earlier.
Despite making the final of the tour-opening Quiksilver Pro at Snapper Rocks, the remaining Australian legs of tour were a bust for Wilkinson.
He finished 25th at Margaret River and 13th at Bells Beach after being knocked out in Round 2 and Round 3 respectively.
With surfers able to discard only two results for the season, a Round 2 knockout in Rio would have been disastrous for Wilkinson’s title campaign.
But with Fioravanti dispatched, he can now focus on securing a strong result and pushing further into the top 10 from his current ranking position of nine.
With a deteriorating swell forcing the event to be put on hold again last night (Australian time), Wilkinson’s Round 3 opponent has not been set.