Durbidge through in Brazil

Bede Durbidge survived a testing bout with ASP Dream Tour rookie Michel Bourez to advance to the final 16 surfers and keep his defence of the Hang Loose Santa Catarina Pro title alive.

The 26-year-old Australian narrowly won his Round 3 match-up 12.83 to 11.83 to set up a clash with American Damien Hobgood in the next round.

"Conditions were pretty tough out there and Michel started out pretty strong before I was able to put some scores up," Durbidge said.

"He got me last year in France so it was good to get another one back on him. He's such a strong competitor and really dangerous is most conditions. I feel like I'm surfing well though and hopefully I can put together a solid result here in Brazil and get a bit of momentum going in my season."

Former ASP world junior champion and current world No.5 Adriano de Souza was in hot form as he scored 16.20 out of a possible 20.

"The surf is still pretty difficult but there are good lefts coming through and I was able to find two high-scoring ones," De Souza said.

"I knew I would have to surf at my highest level. My equipment feels good and I am feeling much more confident after getting through that last round."

De Souza will face Frenchman Jeremy Flores in Round 4.

Nine-time champion Kelly Slater continued to experiment with equipment in his Round 3 victory over Aussie Ben Dunn. Having stretched the boundaries on competitive surfboards for the last several months, including his Round 2 victory on a self-shaped, asymmetrical quad-fin, the American's equipment has been a central topic of much-heated debate within the surfing world.

"I seem to be riding a new board every time I go for a surf," Slater said. "This one I just rode was an epoxy swallow-tail and seemed to go really well in these conditions. I've spent the lay days hanging with some friends here in Brazil and having a few fun surfs around town. I've pretty much just been cruising and testing out some equipment."

Slater will face current Australian world No.8 Tom Whitaker in the next round.