PARIS, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia continued his red-hot play with a semifinals victory Saturday, but Tommy Haas was halted at the $2.95 million Tennis Masters Series event at Paris.
Kafelnikov, the second seed from Russia, beat Sweden's Andreas Vinciguerra in straight sets, 6-1, 7-6 (8-6). It was Kafelnikov's sixth semifinal appearance in his last seven tournaments.
In front of a partisan French crowd, No. 6 Sebastien Grosjean beat the seventh-seeded Haas for the first time in four meetings, 7-5, 6-4.
Grosjean needs to win the tournament in order to qualify for the season-ending $3.7 million Tennis Masters Cup in Sydney in two weeks with the eighth and final berth.
The 23-year-old Grosjean has yet to win a title this year, but has raised his play in big events. He reached the semifinals at the Australian and French Opens and also made the semis at the TMS event in Monte Carlo.
Kafelnikov already earned a berth for the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup in Sydney on Wednesday.
The runner-up here in 1996 and a semifinalist the following two years, Kafelnikov also made the final four at the U.S. Open, the Tennis Masters Series event at Stuttgart and the St. Petersburg Open during his strong season-ending run.
A winner of two Grand Slam titles and an Olympic gold medal, Kafelnikov hopes to capture his first TMS title on Sunday.
He won his fifth straight Kremlin Cup in Moscow last month and advanced to the final of the President's Cup at Tashkent, Uzbekistan the previous week.
Vinciguerra, 20, had a good week in which he ousted Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic of Croatia in the second round after saving two match points. He upset fifth seed Marat Safin of Russia in the third round.
Haas played in his fifth semifinal in the last seven events. He won three titles in as many months, lifting the Hamlet Cup, CA Tennis Trophy and TMS trophy at Stuttgart. He lost to Kafelnikov in the semifinals of the Kremlin Cup.
The winner collects $434,000.
