Lauren Davis: Success of American women is having a 'domino effect'

Lauren Davis, who upset Ekaterina Makarova to reach the quarterfinals in Dubai, says that it's motivating to have a lot of American women succeeding on tour.

The Americans inside the Top 50 include No. 1 Serena Williams, No. 9 Madison Keys, No. 12 Venus Williams, No. 21 CoCo Vandeweghe, No. 38 Alison Riske, No. 44 Christina McHale, Davis and No. 50 Sloane Stephens (who had foot surgery and is sidelined).

“There's quite a few American women in the Top 100, which is—I think it's the most ever in this—it's like a domino effect,” Davis said. "It's really great to see. We challenge each other and encourage each other and train with each other.”

Now ranked No. 46, the 23-year-old Davis won Auckland to start the season. She lost in the first round of the Australian Open, qualified in Doha and reached the quarters, and made it to the quarterfinals in Dubai.

On Thursday, seventh-seeded Elina Svitolina defeated Davis, 6-0, 6-4, in convincing fashion.