Eight became four as the women duked it out at Snapper Rocks for the 2014 Roxy Pro on the Gold Coast, Australia. The four quarter final winners are Stephanie Gilmore, Carissa Moore, Lakey Petersen and Bianca Buitendag and offers some tantalising prospects for the semi finals.

Defending World Champion, Moore will take on five times Champion, Stephanie Gilmore in a hotly anticipated duel. Goofy-footer Buitendag will face Lakey Peterson in the other semi after both performed exceptionally to come through tough quarter finals.

Petersen saw off last years runner up at Roxy Pro, Sally Fitzgibbons of Australia, and pulled out one of her most impressive performances of her fledgling career. She managed to take an 8 point wave in the dying moments of showdown to knock out her more experienced opponents. Speaking afterwards the 19 year old American was delighted, saying: “I don’t think I’ve ever claimed an 8-point wave in my life,” said Peterson. “I’m so excited and I’ve worked so hard this year. To get to the Semifinals is awesome and I want to keep going.”

Buitendag took down the second seed, Tyler Wright, who was unable to match the South African’s powerful style. Buitendag remains the only goofy footer in the draw and seemed delighted to have pulled off an upset.

Earlier in the day Carissa Moore had to make do with the worst of the days waves but the defending champion managed to score highly enough the squeeze past her fellow Hawaiian Malia Manuel. She was looking forward to taking on Gilmore in the semi’s having watched the Australian – and Gold Coast local – dispatch Courtney Conlogue in the most exciting of the quarter finals in the morning.

Stephanie Gilmore put her success down to her intimate knowledge of the breaks at Snapper Rocks and her extra insight could prove crucial in what is expected to be an extremely tight match up with Carissa Moore.