Nine-time ASP world champion Kelly Slater rallied from his Round 1 loss to edge past Brazilian wildcard Bernardo Miranda in Round 2 of the Santa Catarina Pro at Praia Vila.
The 37-year-old has struggled so far in 2009 with three consecutive 17th-place finishes seeing him languish in 25th spot on the current ratings.
Slater, who was forced to borrow equipment for his first round after his baggage went missing upon arriving in Brazil, lost to American compatriot Tim Reyes.
"It took me about three days to get to Brazil and my boards didn't event show up until 11pm last night," Slater said. "I've definitely been tinkering with my equipment this season, and the board I'm on is actually one I shaped - it's an asymmetrical, swallow-tail quad-fin. It worked pretty well out there, but the conditions are tough. There's not really a defined bank out there, so really anyone can win."
Despite his slow start to the season, Slater said he hoped his recent history in Brazil - when he won the world title in 2007 - would prove a turning point for the rest of the year.
"I've had some good moments here in the past and hopefully I can spark something here and get on a bit of a roll. I'm happy to get through a heat and we'll see what happens in Round 3."
Slater will face Australian Ben Dunn in the third round.
Meanwhile South African Jordy Smith - a former ASP world junior champion and current world No.6 - was in devastating touch during Round 2, scoring 9.00 for a single wave to oust American Ben Bourgeois.
"It's still pretty tough out there and it's difficult to find a spot to line up," Smith said. "There are some pretty good waves coming through the bowl though and if you can get on them, you can open up a bit. I just got lucky with my wave ion and was able to put up a couple of scores."
American Nathaniel Curran posted his first career victory at ASP World Tour level, besting Aussie veteran Kieren Perrow 13.50 to 8.67 in their Round 2 heat.
Also scoring his first win of 2009 was Frenchman Michael Picon, who eliminated another Australian, Kai Otton, 14.07 to 8.34.
Defending event champ Bede Durbidge will line up against ASP Dream Tour rookie Michel Bourez when the competition resumes on Monday.