Local favourite Jack Robinson back to his best with highest-scoring wave of the day at the Margaret River Pro

Jack Robinson washed away the disappointment of one of his worst results as a professional surfer, setting an early marker at the Margaret River Pro with highest-scoring wave of the day during an action packed opening round of heats at Main Break. Robinson, who was knocked out in the elimination round in 33rd place at the Gold Coast Pro earlier this month, came out firing in home conditions on Saturday, posting an excellent 8.93 in his two-wave total of 15.56, en route to a heat win over Marco Mignot (12.36) of France and Ian Gentil (11.33) of Hawaii. The Margaret River local said it felt good to be back home where he had as much experience surfing as anyone. And he made the most of what was on offer again, combining two huge turns with a tough finish to move through to the next round in 4-6ft conditions. “I’ve had so many sessions out here and I grew up here so I think it does help for sure,” Robinson, 27, said. “I just built through the heat, I knew that wave was out there and it was just about getting on it. “It’s good to start like that, it came down to the end a little bit to get that one but I’m back home and I’m feeling a lot of support.” Robinson said he had not spent long dwelling on his rare early exit at Burleigh Heads, quickly switching focus to winning Margaret River for a third time in four years. “I thought about that when I was coming in, I was like, ‘That event (Gold Coast) is done, that’s in the past’, and it’s a new chapter now, a new event, a new mission,” he said. “It’s good to be back and see myself in it out there and get the scores in the first round and feel it again. “I feel so much energy for the crowd here, I was high-fiveing everyone on the way down and I don’t always do that, all the kids were stoked and it was really cool.” Earlier, big names including Brazilians Italo Ferriera (world No.1), Yado Dora (No.2) and two-time world champion Filipe Toledo (No.6) all advanced along with world No.3 Jordy Smith of South Africa and No.4 Kanoa Igarashi of Japan. They join Australians Liam O’Brien, Ethan Ewing, George Pittar and Joel Vaughan in the round-of-32. But fellow Aussies, Ryan Callanan and wildcards Jacob Willcox, Winter Vincent and Mikey McDonagh were sent to the elimination round after third-place finishes. McDonagh, though, was still involved in one of the highlights of the day after winning a tense paddle battle for priority with Joao Chianca of Brazil late in their heat. “I was fired up and I only needed a 7.00 towards the end and with five minutes to go I definitely wasn’t backing down from a paddle battle, and I know Joao isn’t backing down either, so it was entertaining,” he said. “That’s the competitive nature of it, we both just wanted it so bad.” Earlier, Japanese/Australian surfer Connor O’Leary (15.80) started the day firing in heat 1, relegating Toledo (15.10) to second, despite both advancing ahead of Imaikalani deVault of Hawaii (14.43). O’Leary, who is fighting to stay above the mid-season cutline, said it was good to get plenty of opportunity to score in the solid conditions. “It’s been a while since I feel like I’ve had a heat where there’s been a lot of waves and I’ve been able to ride a couple and perform,” he said. “This year I think I’ve been surfing the best I ever have ... but I’ve been having a few unlucky heats and I’ve been making a few little mistakes that end up being huge mistakes at the end of the heat. “I just want to perform at this event, there’s a lot of pressure and stress and anxiety and the cut and all of that but I know I’m surfing good so if I’m constantly attacking, win or lose, I’m happy.” Watch the WSL Margaret River Pro live and free on 7PLUS MEN’S OPENING ROUND HEATS HEAT 1: Connor O’Leary JPN 15.80 (8.00, 7.80), Filipe Toledo BRA 15.10 (8.00, 7.10), Imaikalani deVault HAW 14.43 (7.93, 6.50) HEAT 2: Matthew McGillivray RSA 14.33 (8.00, 6.33), Ethan Ewing AUS 13.77 (7.10, 6.67), Ryan Callinan AUS 13.10 (7.00, 6.10) HEAT 3: Kanoa Igarashi JPN 14.26 (7.43, 6.83), Alan Cleland MEX 14.17 (7.50, 6.67), Edgard Groggia BRA 9.80 (5.17, 4.63) HEAT 4: Joao Chianca BRA 16.00 (8.83, 7.17), Jordy Smith RSA 12.87 (6.50, 6.37), Mikey McDonough AUS 11.47 (5.97, 5.50) HEAT 5: Liam O’Brien AUS 15.33 (8.00, 7.33), Yago Dora BRA 12.73 (7.50, 5.23), Winter Vincent AUS 9.40 (5.63, 3.77) HEAT 6: Italo Ferriera BRA 14.10 (7.33, 6.77), George Pittar AUS 10.33 (6.00, 4.33), Jacob Willcox AUS 5.00 (2.50, 2.50) HEAT 7: Jack Robinson AUS 15.56 (8.93, 6.63), Marco Mignot FRA 12.36 (7.83, 4.53), Ian Gentil HAW 11.33 (6.50, 4.83) HEAT 8: Cole Houshmand USA 16.43 (8.50, 9.93), Barron Mamiya HAW 11.26 (5.83, 5.43), Samuel Pupo BRA 16.23 (8.23, 8.00) HEAT 9: Ian Gouveia BRA 13.23 (7.00, 6.23), Miguel Pupo BRA 13.13 (7.13, 6.00), Alejo Muniz BRA 11.44 (5.77, 5.67), HEAT 10: Leonardo Fioravanti ITA 13.07 (8.00, 5.07), Griffin Colapinto USA 11.80 (6.17, 5.63), Crosby Colapinto USA 9.63 (5.10, 4.53) HEAT 11: Joel Vaughan AUS 9.16 (4.83, 4.33), Rio Waida IDN 8.33 (4.83, 3.50), Deivid Silva BRA 7.33 (4.13, 3.20) HEAT 12: Jake Marshall USA 14.90 (7.00, 7.90), Jackson Bunch HAW 13.53 (7.10, 6.43), Seth Moniz HAW 10.34 (5.77, 4.67)