Tiago Pires and Michael Picon are out while South American Marco Giorgi nailed a 9.83 on his way to round 5. Tim Boal is through, but it seems the young pretenders are picking up the pace and stuffing a few bigger names out of the comp.

Here are the highlights from day three at the Estoril Quik Pro. As always the press release follows.

ESTORIL, Guincho, Portugal (Thursday, April 23, 2009) – The ASP WQS 6-Star Estoril Quiksilver Pro 2009 moved closer to its business today as Guincho’s consistent beachbreak delivered some excellent three foot (one meter) waves allowing organisers to wrap up Round 3 and six heats of Round 4, event outsiders creating major upsets for an exciting day of world class surfing. While current ASP Top 45 surfers Tiago Pires (Ericeira, PRT) and Michael Picon (Capbreton, FRA) suffered early eliminations, ASP WQS rising campaigners stole the show to advance through to the first Man-on-man heats of the event planned to kick off tomorrow at Carcavelos, main location of the Estoril Quiksilver Pro.

Marco Giorgi (URY), 21, flew the South American colours today, the newcomer dominating Day 3 of the Estoril Quiksilver Pro 2009 with exceptional surfing. Giorgi, who placed equal 5th in the recent ASP WQS 4-Star event in France, was unstoppable throughout the day netting an near perfect 9.83 point ride (out of a possible 10) on his way to Round 5.

“I have been having a great time so far in Europe, in or out of the water,” Giorgi said. “The waves were great all day and I am just trying to stay calm. It seems like things are definitely going my way and to get such high scores is definitely a great boost for my confidence before I get to surf my second Man-on-man heat ever.”

Giorgi, whose trip to Europe has been successful so far, will be a serious threat to his next opponent and ASP WQS No. 9 Gony Zubizarreta (Vigo, ESP) when competition resumes possibly tomorrow.

“I feel like I have nothing to lose and everything is bonus from now on,” Giorgi said. “I am just starting my WQS career so I am not expecting any huge result but I will take that one and try and go further of course. I am so stoked to finish the day on top when there is such a high level.”

Several big performances were displayed in the clean sometimes exceptional conditions breaking at Guincho. The incoming tide made the set-up close to perfect giving any surfer the chance to express his skills.

Other South American performer Alejo Muniz (BRA), 19, struck again with his impressive progressive surfing and breath-taking attacks, the rising star showing rare talent to take control of his Round 4 battle easily. Muniz, who secured a 9.00 point ride (out of a possible 10) and a 9.60 point score earlier in the day, showed he could flare in the conditions suiting his surfing and finishes the day with a new favourite status.

“It was such a fun day and I am so happy to keep things up this way before surfing in Round 5,” Muniz said. “I just had fun today and tried to show what I could do on my surfboard. Getting these scores is definitely another good step for me in this event.”

Muniz, who is considered one of surfing’s best rising talents by many, will now meet with other young man and promising talent from France Vincent Duvignac (Mimizan, FRA), 22, in Heat 6 of Round 5.

Yesterday’s inform man and former ASP Australasia Junior series No. 2 Heath Joske (AUS) confirmed his hot start in the Estoril Quiksilver Pro by escaping from two rounds to reach his first Man-on-man round ever on an ASP WQS 6-Star event. Joske (New South Wales, AUS), 20, who posted the event’s third best heat result on Day 2, came up with solid skills again to best Romain Cloitre (REU) in Round 3 before placing second to Moroccan competitor Abdel El Harim (MAR) in Round 4, enough to secure his ticket for another round.

“The waves were not big but gave enough quality to find a few little barrels and it was a lot better than I thought out there,” Joske said. “It’s my first time in Portugal and in this event so I am taking it heat by heat and hopefully I can get a big result.”

Favorites and much expected surfers Tim Boal (Anglet, FRA) and Joan Duru (Ondres, FRA) flew the French flag both men advancing to the Man-on-man finals confidently. Duru, whose impressive 9.50 point ride from Day 2 was still in everyone’s mind, repeated his good form with several solid scores including an 8.00 point ride whil Boal’s 15.83 point heat result was rocketing him in the final eight-man contingent.

ESTORIL QUIKSILVER PRO ROUND 5 UPCOMING HEATS
Heat 1: Romain Cloitre (REU) Vs Heath Joske (AUS)
Heat 2: Frederic Robin (REU) Vs Abdel El Harim (MAR)
Heat 3: Marco Giorgi (URY) Vs Gony Zubizarreta (ESP)
Heat 4: Joan Duru (FRA) Vs Masatoshi Ohno (JPN)
Heat 5: Tim Boal (FRA) Vs Jonathan Gonzalez (CNY)
Heat 6: Vincent Duvignac (FRA) Vs Alejo Muniz (BRA)
Heat 7: TBA
Heat 8: TBA

ESTORIL QUIKSILVER PRO ROUND 4 RESULTS
Heat 1: Romain Cloitre (REU) 12.06 pts, Frederic Robin (REU) 11.26 pts, Jorge Spanner (BRA) 10.17 pts
Heat 2: Abdel El Harim (MAR) 12.34 pts, Heath Joske (AUS) 11.57 pts, Jack Perry (AUS) 8.06 pts
Heat 3: Marco Giorgi (URY) 16.10 pts, Joan Duru (FRA) 14.00 pts, Justin Mujica (PRT) 7.40 pts
Heat 4: Masatoshi Ohno (JPN) 15.17 pts, Gony Zubizarreta (ESP) 12.50 pts, Madison Williams (AUS) 9.17 pts
Heat 5: Tim Boal (FRA) 13.16 pts, Vincent Duvignac (FRA) 11.80 pts, Eric Rebiere (FRA) 8.50 pts
Heat 6: Alejo Muniz (BRA) 16.67 pts, Jonathan Gonzalez (CNY) 12.13 pts, Jose Maria Cabrera (CNY) 5.43 pts
Heat 7: Marlon Lipke (DEU), Nat Young (USA), Renato Galvao (BRA)
Heat 8: Charles Martin (GLP), Igor Morais (BRA), Pablo Gutierrez (ESP)