Wilson excels at World Surf League event

Australian surfer Julian Wilson is through to the next round of the World Surf League event in Brazil, with fellow Australian Wade Carmichael also winning.

In waves that reached as high as six feet, Wilson beat Brazil's Alejo Muniz in heat six of round three.

Wilson scored a 3.17 and 6.17 for the win over Muniz, who captured a 4.77 and 4.17 in a low-scoring heat.

He said it was an emotional win because he and Muniz had a long history together.

"I qualified for the tour the same year as Alejo," Wilson said.

"There was a lot of history going into that heat. I think Alejo is an exceptional surfer.

"When you win the heat you feel like you are taking a little bit away from him."

Meanwhile, rookie Carmichael faces a tough task in the next heat after being slated to face two-time WSL champion John-John Florence and Yago Dora.

In his heat, Florence scored the highest two-wave total of the event so far, a 17.97 out of a possible 20, which was made up of a near-perfect 9.80 and an 8.17.

"Once I got a couple of mid-scores under my belt, I wanted to try to do some airs and got lucky," Florence said.

"I am fired up. I've been fired up this whole event, so I am psyched to be moving on and we will see what tomorrow brings."

Australia's Mikey Wright lost to Brazilian superstar Gabriel Medina, while Matt Wilkinson, Connor O'Leary and Adrian Buchan also went down.