Ethan Ewing has survived a late charge from 11-time world champion Kelly Slater to advance to the round of 16 in the World Surf League event at Hawaii's Sunset Beach.
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The world No.2 Australian was taking on the American veteran for the second successive competition, with the pair also squaring off in the third round of the Pipe Pro last week.
Ewing was again triumphant, but faced a nervous wait with Slater pulling on to a wave in the final minute and nailing a carving 360.
The 52-year-old needed a score of 6.17 to down the Queenslander but after a long deliberation the judges awarded a 4.93.
"They took a while to score and I wasn't exactly sure what the score was that he needed," Ewing said.
"I saw it (the wave) from behind and I was super stressed out."
With Slater set to retire at the end of the 2024 season, Ewing was grateful to get another chance to surf against the world's greatest of all time.
"As soon as I saw the match-up I was pretty excited but also super-nervous because he just pulls stuff out of his hat pretty easy.
"He's the GOAT but I was happy to go up against him again, he's a legend," the 25-year-old said.
The wild, windy conditions on Sunday proved tricky for all the surfers, with wave selection difficult.
"That was one of the hardest sessions I've had out there," Ewing said.
"You need to have low expectations as you can get stuck looking for a perfect wave and there's not many out there, so you've got to keep the ball rolling."
In other Australian results, Jacob Willcox tallied 13.40 to upset in-form Italian Leonardo Fioravanti, who scored 13.33, while Liam O'Brien had a tight tussle before overcoming Brazilian Caio Ibelli.
O'Brien and Ewing will again meet in the round of 16 after the latter won their Pipe Pro clash at the same stage.
Willcox will take on Hawaiian Seth Moniz later on Sunday while West Australian Jack Robinson also advanced, booking a meeting with American Jake Marshall who surfed the wave of the day to earn a score of 9.17.
Ryan Callinan dominated local hope Brodi Sale, with the Newcastle surfer next taking on Sydneysider Connor O'Leary who now surfs under the Japan flag.
The women's competition is yet to get underway.
Australian Associated Press
