Coco Gauff gets her 20s started with a win

Coco Gauff is an old soul, and it seems as though she has been on the WTA Tour for years. The reality is she turned 20 years old on March 13 and is only getting started with life and her tennnis career.

She spent the first day of not being a teenager by winning her Indian Wells Round of 16 match against Elise Mertens by only losing two games. Gauff has not been talked about much at Indian Wells, but she is finding her game at just the right time.

Gauff's next match is in the quarterfinals on Thursday against Yue Yahn who defeated Daria Kasatkina and Australian Open finalist Qinwen Zheng in previous rounds.

How Gauff spent her birthday

After Gauff took care of business securing her spot in the quarterfinals, she held up the finger signs for 2-0. Indian Wells emcee Andrew Krasney came out on the court to wish Gauff a happy birthday, but his microphone was not working so he had to climb up into the umpire's chair.

Birthday cake was also on the menu. Tennis Channel presented Gauff with a cake when she arrived in the studio for a postmatch interview. Gauff took a bite and declared it delicious.

Gauff has never won Indian Wells and with former champions Iga Swiatek and Caroline Wozniacki in the mix, she has not been talked about as a contender. With Swiatek and Wozniacki facing each other in another quarterfinal match, only one former champion will be left at the end of the day. If Gauff wins, she will face the winner of the Maria Sakkari vs. Emma Navarro match in the semifinals.

Gauff loves tennis so the best birthday gift would be a belated one, a St. Patrick's Day trip to the Indian Wells finals, and a WTA 1000 Masters win. There is a lot of tennis yet to be played so we will see what happens.

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