PARIS, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- Second-seeded Russian Marat Safin advanced to the final of the BNP Paribas Masters on Saturday with a 7-5, 7-6 (7-4) triumph over No. 10 Carlos Moya of Spain in the semifinals of the $2.95 million event.
Top seed Lleyton Hewitt of Australia overcame streaking Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, in the second semifinal to reach his fifth final of the year.
Showing a hard-hitting, aggressive style that netted him the 2000 U.S. Open crown, Safin fired 14 aces with just one double fault and recorded the only break of the match in the 12th game of the first set. He controlled the tiebreaker, hitting a forehand down the line on match point.
The 22-year-old Safin clinched his place in the eight-man field for the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai on Wednesday and now has a chance to win his first title in more than a year. He came up short at the Australian Open and at the Tennis Masters Series event in Hamburg this year.
"I am feeling good and I think I am playing now like I did two years ago," said Safin, considered one of the most talented players on the men's circuit. "I have been searching for my game for a while and I found it. I also served very well today."
Safin, who will return to this arena next month to help lead Russia to its first Davis Cup title in the final against France, is trying to become just the fourth man to win this event at least twice, following Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras and Boris Becker.
Moya, who saved six match point against defending champion Sebastien Grosjean in the third round and eliminated Agassi in the quarterfinals, fought off match point at 5-6 against Safin to force a tiebreaker but could not advance to his seventh final of the season.
The Spaniard has 10 days to rest and prepare for the Tennis Masters Cup.
With his victory, Hewitt took an 88-point lead over Agassi in the battle to finish the year at No. 1. He will earn another 30 points if he defeats Safin on Sunday and tie Agassi for the tour lead in victories with five.
After splitting the first two sets, Hewitt fought back from a 0-40 deficit to take a 4-3 lead in the third and broke Srichaphan's serve for a 5-3 advantage. He converted his third match point when the 23-year-old Thai hit a forehand long.
Hewitt, the reigning Wimbledon champion, is 3-3 lifetime against Safin, having won two of their last three meetings. But the Russian took their last encounter at Hamburg.
"Hewitt is the world No. 1 and I don't think anyone can take his ranking away from him," said Safin, who seeks his 11th career title. "He is also playing great at the moment and I will have to be consistent if I want to beat him."
The 21-year-old Australian will try to capture his second TMS crown of the season and 17th title of his career.
Srichaphan had his winning streak stopped at nine matches. He claimed his second career tournament last week and had won 29 of his last 35 matches before his loss to Hewitt.
