While Filipe Toledo and Gabriel Medina are heads down in the Title race, Wilson's goal in France is simple: "I want to do better than Toledo and Medina".
The World No. 3 is currently sitting 8,560 points below Medina and while it is substantial, a good result here could put him back in the mix. Judging from his performance today, Wilson has every intention on pushing through. He earned the event's highest single-wave score so far with an 8.50 and a Round 1 heat win, to advance him directly to Round 3.
"I'm on the outskirts at the moment in terms of the Title race," said Wilson. "Which is disappointing. I want to get back in it. It's a hard task but it's very achievable. I'm so far out right now that the pressure is almost off me but I'm trying to use that to my advantage and come on strong."
Julian Wilson (AUS) - WSL / Laurent Masurel
During his first year on Tour, Wilson had a Final against Medina in France. While Medina ended up taking the win, Wilson is more than accustomed to the shifty conditions on offer at Plage Des Culs Nus. And for the first time, the Australian brought his new family to Europe with him.
"Being a dad is out of this world," said Wilson. "It's so beautiful to have both my wife and daughter here with me. I'm so sick of saying goodbye. Them being here has kind of freed me up and allowed me to focus on performing because there's been some challenging days."
While Gabriel Medina will also be skipping to Round 3 after winning his heat today, Filipe Toledo was unable to find a solid back up score and lost out to Connor O'Leary in Heat 6. Toledo will be looking to catch up in Round 2 against wildcard Jorgann Couzinet.