In the doubles at the ASB Classic yesterday, he decided it was time to live up to it.
Facing a match point in a tense super tiebreak, Watt unloaded on a return that brought the crowd to its feet and swung momentum back towards him and Finn Reynolds as they went on to defeat Belgian Sander Gille and Dutchman Sem Verbeek 6-4, 6-7 (2-7), 13-11.
"It’s funny, people talk about serve bots, and Finn’s always called me a return bot," Watt said.
"He’s always said to me I’ve got to be a return bot. So I thought, if there’s any time to sit on a return and crunch it, now’s the time."
The match had already delivered plenty of twists.
Watt and Finn Reynolds claimed the opening set with a single break, but were dragged into a second-set tiebreak after neither side could find an opening on serve.
Two points lost on Reynolds’ serve allowed the Europeans to level the match.
In the deciding super tiebreak, Gille and Verbeek led for long stretches, including holding match points at 9-6 and again later as the tension inside the stadium continued to rise.
Despite the pressure, Reynolds said belief never wavered, as all four match points were saved.
"We know that when we get into that zone of super positive and playing aggressive, sometimes you just need a little catalyst," he said.
That catalyst came in the form of Watt’s fearless return, even if it caught his partner by surprise.
"I was like, ‘if there’s a time to just hit it in, this would be a good time’," Reynolds said with a laugh.
"And he decides to just blast a winner. I was like, ‘that works too’."
Alejandro Tabilo’s return to Auckland has begun in the best possible fashion, the 2024 champion through to the second round after a straight-sets win on centre court.
The Chilean defeated Argentina’s Camilo Ugo Carabelli 6-4, 6-2 in just 62 minutes, producing a composed and efficient performance to open his campaign.
Tabilo said he was pleased with the way he handled the match, particularly his ability to take control early.
"I was pretty solid out there, serving well," he said.
"I think I was volleying well at the net, closing well. So happy about that. I think just in general, I was playing aggressive tennis."
The victory capped a whirlwind few days for the world No 81, who had been preparing to play qualifying before a late change resulted in him being promoted into the main draw.
Tabilo revealed he found out he was in the main draw only shortly before warming up to play a match in the first round of qualifying. The change occurred because Stan Wawrinka withdrew from the tournament.
Despite the late uncertainty, Tabilo showed little sign of disruption on court.
He dictated play from the baseline and moved forward confidently to finish points.
Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard continued his growing reputation as one of tennis’ most reliable tiebreak performers, knocking out two-time ASB Classic champion Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3, 7-6 (7-2) in the first round yesterday.
For the 22-year-old Frenchman, the match followed a familiar pattern. Mpetshi Perricard’s past 10 completed matches had already all featured at least one tiebreak, and Auckland made it 11 in a row, a statistic that again told the story of his ability to stay calm when sets tighten.
Defending champion Gael Monfils, of France, bowed out of the tournament in the late match, losing 5-7, 6-3, 4-6 to Hungarian Fabian Marozsan.
No 6 seed Alex Michelsen, of the United States, battled to a 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 win over Argentine Mariano Navone, American Marcos Giron walloped Frenchman Alexandre Muller 6-2, 6-2 and Serbian Hamad Medjedovic downed American Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-2).
— Allied Media
