"Greatest gift to be out here playing": Gauff pleased and cherishes time on court on 19th birthday with win over Noskova

Coco Gauff gave herself the perfect birthday gift in the form of a third round win at BNP Paribas Open Indian Wells as she turned 19. For Gauff, playing tennis and winning is the 'greatest gift' she could get as he got emotional on court.

The world No. 6 beat Linda Noskova 6-4, 6-3 to book her place into the last-16 at Indian Wells for the first time in her career. Gauff is in fine form this season, having won a title (Auckland), and reached another semi-final and a quarter-final already in 2023.

"It's really special, I know some of you guys know my birthday is tomorrow. It really is the greatest gift to be out here and playing," Gauff said in her post-match on-court interview on Sunday.

"I always get emotional on my birthday, so even just thinking about it. I'm just really happy to be here so thank you guys."

Gauff will face Sweden's Rebecca Peterson in the Round of 16 and a win would take the American into her fourth singles quarterfinal in five tournaments this season as she looks to add another title on home soil.