Parkinson hits hot form

Australian surfer Joel Parkinson was at his brilliant best as he easily won his first-round heat at the Billabong Pro Santa Catarina.

Parkinson executed a giant forehand aerial for the highest single-wave score of the day, a near-perfect 9.93 out of a possible 10.

"I already had two solid scores and I was just loosening up," Parkinson said. "When I hit the section, I thought I was too high, but my board stuck to my feet and I thought, 'well, I'll try to land it'."

"Then I found a soft section and rode out of it. I've been working with a really good fin set-up and my boards have been feeling amazing."

Parkinson has only managed two fifth-place finishes to start the season, but last year's runner-up is confident about his chances for the remainder of the year.

"The tour comes in waves," Parkinson said. "Someone will do well in the first few events, then someone switches on in the next few and so on. It's a long year ahead and the focus is on the heat in front of me."

Fellow Aussies Bede Durbidge, Tom Whitaker, Matt Wilkinson and Owen Wright also won their heats to progress through to Round 3, but there were a few upsets on day one of competition.

Reigning world champion Mick Fanning and current world No.1 Taj Burrow were both relegated to Round 2 elimination heats.