MICHELE Mair has leapt 59 places to a career-best 492 in the world

women's tennis rankings after having reached the semi-final stage of a

$10,000 US Satellite Tournament in Norfolk Virginia last week.

The 21-year-old from Edinburgh, who is contesting a similar event in

Kansas this week, is now the fifteenth-highest British woman player.

Miles Maclagan and Ross Matheson remain sixth and seventh respectively

among the British men. Maclagan reached the doubles final partnered by

Romanian Dinu Pescariu in the ATP Challenger tournament in Istanbul last

week, and his latest world ranking of 347 is 33 places higher than that

of Matheson.

There are three seeds among the 11 Scots given direct acceptance into

the singles events at next week's Midland Bank National Junior

championships at Nottingham Tennis Centre. Eight others have been

playing in the qualifying.

Bridge of Allan's Graeme Darlington, 15, reached the third qualifying

round of the 18-and-under boys' singles with a convincing 6-2, 6-4

victory yesterday over Welsh cap Chris Leatham to set up a clash with

Durham's Mark Airey. But 18-year-old McKnight (Newlands) twice came

within a point of defeat before edging past Norfolk's Warren Sawyer,

three years his junior, 6-7, 7-6, 6-2. He now meets Wiltshire's Richard

Watkins.

Alan Mackin (Whitecraigs) beat Peter Fincham (Lincolnshire) 7-5, 6-4

to reach the final qualifying round in the 14-and-under boys and now

meets Oliver Foreman (Sussex). Other Scottish results:

Girls' singles. 18-and-under. First round -- N Burns (Whitecraigs)

beat R Hutchins (Surrey) 6-2, 6-2; Y Hutton (Strathgryffe) beat Z Slater

(Dorset) 6-4, 5-7, 6-4. 14-and-under. Second round -- E Hare (Yorkshire)

beat C Young (Alford) 7-6, 7-5.

* RESULTS from North-East Championships at Cults:

Men's singles. Semi-finals -- I MacAulay (Newlands) beat F Williams

(London) 6-3, 6-3; G Foster (Hong Kong) beat N Rayner (Cults) 7-5, 6-3.

Boys' singles. 18-and-under. Semi-finals -- P Hutcheon (Games Club)

beat M Walker (Montrose) 6-1, 7-5; S McDonald (Western) beat J Guy

(Lomond Park) 6-2, 7-5. 16-and-under. Final -- Hutcheon beat Guy 6-0,

7-5. 14-and-under. Semi-finals -- A McKechnie (Perth) beat T Ogilvie

(Perth) 6-0, 6-4; M Malcolm (Stonehaven) beat M Izatt (Dunblane) 7-5,

6-4. 12-and-under. Final -- Ogilvie beat M Hendry (Linlithgow) 6-3, 6-1.

Girls' singles (all finals). 16-and-under -- A McGarthland (Westhill)

beat G Archbold (Cults) 1-6, 6-2, 6-4. 14-and-under -- H Farr

(Guildford) beat M Brown (Kirkcaldy) 6-4, 6-3. 12-and-under -- Farr beat

V McBain (Cults)

6-2, 6-0.