Matt Banting saw off all challengers to win the Australian Open at Manly Beach, having already claimed the Pro Junior competition.

In front of a healthy crowd in Manly Banting had to be at his best to beat American Evan Gieselman in the final, but landed some air-reverses that earned him big points.

“This has been the best week of my life!” Banting said. “I’m so happy, this is the best feeling I’ve ever had! I’m shaking so much I can hardly talk. Evan (Gieselman) is a really good surfer, he was blowing up for the whole final, I was really scared. I was just lucky to start off well with a couple of good waves."

Gieselman, who achieved a personal best result at ASP 6-star event level, was not disheartened by defeat in the final.

“It was a good match-up, it was really fun surfing against Matt,” Gieselman said. “I really want to congratulate him, he surfed really well, and found a couple of good rights that let him do a couple of airs. I would have loved to have won, but 2nd is a great result. I’m doing the whole ASP Star Series this year and I’m looking to qualify for the ASP World Title Series at the end of the year, so this is a great start for me.”

Eurosport