Coco Gauff sounded pretty happy after grinding out a tough win despite not playing her best in her Indian Wells opener and afterward warned her competition that she would stay around for at least the next decade.
On Saturday, Gauff – who is turning 20 on Tuesday – kicked off her final tournament as a teenager in Indian Wells by playing against world No. 47 Clara Burel. What was expected to be a routine win in her opening match in Indian Wells, turned out to be a pretty difficult match for Gauff, who in the end just narrowly managed to beat Burel 2-6 6-3 7-6 (4) and avoid a shock exit.
After Burel took a 4-0 third-set lead and later also had a 5-2 lead, Gauff found herself close to a defeat. But third-seeded Gauff didn’t quit and ended up creating a very impressive comeback.
Gauff, the 2023 US Open champion, now hopes to celebrate her upcoming 20th birthday by winning her eighth WTA title in Indian Wells.
“So now hopefully I can win a couple more in my 20s and yeah. Age is just a number. I’m going to be out here for at least another 10 years so I’ll see you guys then,” Gauff said in her on-court interview.
“It wasn’t my best tennis but it’s not about how you show up on your good days, it’s about how you show up on your bad ones and I’m happy with how I showed up today.”
