Malia Manuel posting the highest two-wave heat total of the day with 17.53 in her Round 1 match-up. Image: ASP/Robertson

Expectations oh expectations! The most anticipated stop on tour got off to a start at Cloudbreak yesterday and predictably conditions probably weren’t quite up to surfing fans’s hopes, going down in tricky 3 to 5 foot windswept waves that most would have found hard to identify as Fiji.

“Tricky conditions out there for us this morning but I’m super happy to get through there at the end,” said Sally Fitzgibbons. “It’s a powerful wave and with a little bit of wind on it, you can get lost in the lineup. I feel like I’m surfing strong though and I’m really pleased to move directly into Round 3.”

While tour favourites Steph Gilmore and Carissa Moore both won their Round 1 heats, it was Hawaii’s Malia Manuel who ended up being the standout performer of the day securing the highest two-wave heat total with 17.53 in the final heat of the day.

As many may have expected, Cloudbreak didn’t let the girls take to the lineup again without taking at least one prisoner, with 19-year-old Australian surfer Nikki Van Dijk being forced to withdraw from the competition after a brutal wipeout on the reef.

“Nikki Van Dijk has withdrawn from the Fiji Women’s Pro after sustaining injuries to her face, chest and arms during her Round 1 heat,” said Deputy Commissioner Jessi Miley-Dyer. “She has received medical treatment on Tavarua island and is in good spirits, even wanting to surf her Round 2 heat, but ultimately decided that she is unable to return to competition in Fiji. We wish her a speedy recovery.”

Fiji Women’s Pro Round 3 Match-ups:

Heat 1: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS), Bianca Buitendag (ZAF), Tatiana Weston-Webb (HAW)
Heat 2: Carissa Moore (HAW), Dimity Stoyle (AUS), Alessa Quizon (HAW)
Heat 3: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS), Laura Enever (AUS), Paige Hareb (NZL)
Heat 4: Tyler Wright (AUS), Malia Manuel (HAW), Johanne Defay (FRA)

Fiji Women’s Pro Round 2 Results:

Heat 1: Laura Enever (AUS) vs. Nikki Van Dijk (AUS) (Heat did not surf)
Heat 2: Johanne Defay (FRA) 12.16 def. Coco Ho (HAW) 9.24
Heat 3: Tyler Wright (AUS) 14.67 def. Ella Williams (NZL) 6.10
Heat 4: Tatiana Weston-Webb (HAW) 12.83 def. Lakey Peterson (USA) 0.00
Heat 5: Bianca Buitendag (ZAF) 7.77 def. Alana Blanchard (HAW) 3.43
Heat 6: Alessa Quizon (HAW) 14.50 def. Pauline Ado (FRA) 10.94

Fiji Women’s Pro Round 1 Results:

Heat 1: Paige Hareb (NZL) 10.50, Coco Ho (HAW) 7.77, Lakey Peterson (USA) 7.20
Heat 2: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 13.33, Johanne Defay (FRA) 12.33, Laura Enever (AUS) 3.67 INT
Heat 3: Carissa Moore (HAW) 14.76, Alessa Quizon (HAW) 12.10, Ella Williams (NZL) 7.00
Heat 4: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 12.27, Tatiana Weston-Webb (HAW) 11.33, Pauline Ado (FRA) 7.60
Heat 5: Dimity Stoyle (AUS) 10.50, Tyler Wright (AUS) 6.93, Alana Blanchard (HAW) 4.00
Heat 6: Malia Manuel (HAW) 17.53, Bianca Buitendag (ZAF) 13.47, Nikki Van Dijk (AUS) 6.76