BBC SPORT | Tennis | Hewitt to meet Safin

Lleyton Hewitt was made to fight all the way by Paradorn Srichaphan before securing his place in the final of the Paris Masters.

Gamewatch: Hewitt v Srichaphan

The world number one will meet Marat Safin on Sunday, after the Russian earlier came through in straight sets against Carlos Moya.

Slowly I'm getting into good shape

Marat Safin

Hewitt made a strong start to his semi-final but soon found his Thai opponent in the kind of form that has seen him race up the rankings.

The Australian did well to hold on for a 6-3 3-6 6-3 victory as he looks to boost his lead at the top of the rankings.

After taking the opening set comfortably, Hewitt dropped the second as Srichaphan found a rich vein of form, firing winners from the back of the court.

At 3-3 and 0-40 down in the final set, the top seed was staring defeat in the face, but he fought back to take the game and, ultimately, the match.

"I took it one point at a time to get those three points back," said Hewitt.

Carlos Moya congratulates Marat Safin after their semi-final
Safin (r) was in top form against Moya
"After that I told myself 'that's the turning point.' I had to take my chances when I could."

Third seed Safin was in relaxed mood against Moya having sealed his qualification for the end-of-season Masters Cup.

And it showed in the quality of his play as the Russian's serve proved impregnable.

Moya could not engineer a single break point and Safin came through 7-5 7-6 (7-4).

Moya, who has also qualified for the Shanghai finale, looked slightly jaded after epic wins over Sebastien Grosjean and Andre Agassi this week but Safin was supreme.

Gamewatch: Safin v Moya

"I'm playing better, much better. I'm feeling good," he said.

"Until the US Open (this season) I couldn't even make the second round, I was playing terrible. Slowly I'm getting into good shape. Now I have just nothing to lose.

"I hope I can play like this for another few weeks, for the Davis Cup final and (the Masters Cup) in Shanghai."

The 22-year-old, who is yet to win a title this year, faces either world number one Lleyton Hewitt or unseeded Paradorn Srichaphan in the final.


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