MILES Maclagan, who faces former Davis Cup player Danny Sapsford in

today's men's singles quarter-final at the Volkswagen national tennis

championships at Telford, eased into the last four of the men's doubles

yesterday.

The 19-year-old Scot and his partner, Andrew Foster, who reached the

last 16 at Wimbledon this year, beat Nick Gould and Andrew Richardson

7-6, 6-4, in the opening round, and then defeated Mike Wyeth and Greg

Saffrey 6-2, 6-2.

Ross Matheson and Sapsford went down 6-3, 6-3 to top seeds Jeremy

Bates and Mark Petchey in round one, while Michele Mair and Jane Wood

scored a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Clare Spencer and Vanessa Irvine before

bowing out 5-7,

6-4, 7-5, to Caroline Hunt and Alison Smith in the last eight.

The evergreen Bates is set for a generation game with teenager Tim

Henman.

Top seed and defending champion Bates stormed into the last eight with

a 6-0, 6-3 mauling of unranked qualifier Luke Milligan, while Henman was

more unhurried in his 6-1, 6-7, 6-1 defeat of Nick Adams.

Although Bates is ranked much higher than Henman, the clash should

give an interesting view of the old and the new in British tennis.