Nikki Van Dijk, Laura Enever take down surf guns Tyler Wright, Courtney Conlogue at Swatch Pro

YOUNG gun Nikki van Dijk and fellow Aussie Laura Enever have pulled off a double upset to send the top two surfers in the world into a surf for survival at the Swatch Pro at Lower Trestles.

• Why you will want to cheer for these Aussies
• Sally Fitz: 'It's crunch time'
• Wright making good moves
• Ultimate Guide to the Paralympics
• What's next for the Diamonds?

YOUNG gun Nikki van Dijk and fellow Aussie Laura Enever have pulled off a double upset to send the No. 1 and No. 2 surfers in the world into a surf for survival at the Swatch Pro at Lower Trestles.

Australian Tyler Wright and American Courtney Conlogue will be joined in the elimination round by Sally Fitzgibbons who also started the world surf league event on the back foot.

Laura Enever on her way to a big win in round one.

Incredibly only two big names advanced directly to round three in reigning world champion Carissa Moore from Hawaii and six-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore from Australia.

Former rookie of the year Van Dijk beat No. 1 Wright and American wildcard Bethany Hamilton, the Hawaiian surfer who lost her arm in a shark attack as a teenager.

“I’m stoked to be out there surfing with Tyler [Wright] and Bethany [Hamilton],” said the Phillip Island surfer.

“It’s not quite an upset to me knowing there’s a lot of contest left and that was only one heat but I’m stoked to move forward with a win and I’m just frothing on the chance to be out there with just a few other girls.

“I made some mistakes early on so it felt great to get a few waves in the end and come back a hopefully I can string together more heats like that.”

Nikki Van Dijk ahead of her first round heat at Lower Trestles.

Van Dijk, 21, has yet to break through for her first win on the World Surf League.

Sydney’s Laura Enever is also looks for her first big win of the season after taking down Conlogue, the world No. 2, in her opener in small surf at Lower Trestles.

Enever locked in eight scores to Conlogue’s two for her opening round win.

“I was just trying to focus on what I was doing,” Enever said.

Gilmore also produced a dominating performance for Australia to post the day’s top score of 16.70 during her defeat of French surfer Johanne Defay and Aussie rookie Keely Andrew.

“I feel my best surfing is when I’m in a jersey,” Gilmore said. “I love feeling that pressure and having to rise to that occasion, and seeing whether or not I can do it.

“That’s when you turn to find the best in yourself and that’s what happens to me most of the time.’’