Marat Safin will bid for his third Paris Masters title on Sunday when he meets Czech qualifier Radek Stepanek in the final of the 2.43-million euros tournament.
The Russian sixth seed powered past 13th seed Guillermo Canas 6-2, 7-6 in 95 minutes. Safin also made the final of the indoors event in 1999, 2000 and 2002, winning the last two.
Stepanek beat another qualifier, Belarussian Max Mirnyi 3-6, 7-6, 6-4.
Safin broke Canas early to lead 4-1 and 5-2. The Argentine, who rallied from 274th to 14th in the ATP rankings this season, again lost serve and the set in the eighth game.
Canas broke Safin to lead 2-1 in the second set but then lost his serve to love.
Two disputed calls in the final tiebreak, one of which could have given Canas a set point, allowed Safin to take the set in 95 minutes.
"I managed to stay in the match and it was very close. It was all up to a couple of points and it's a pity some of them were disputable," Canas said.
Safin said: "I understand he can be unhappy because the calls went my way.
"In the second set, I let him break and didn't really serve well. I was getting a little bit angry at myself because I knew it was really important to hold my serve.
"So I tried my best, got into a tiebreak. Two close calls, and basically that was it. But the tiebreak is a lottery. It's not who is holding, who doesn't make any mistakes, it's who takes risks", said Safin, winner of the last Masters Series tournament in Madrid last month.
On Sunday, the former U.S. Open champion will try to emulate Boris Becker, the only player to have won the Paris Masters three times.
Safin said before he knew the identity of his opponent on Sunday that he did not care who he met.
"They're in the final and it's not like they are making finals every week. So for them to be in a final means a lot of pressure but also they have nothing to lose.
"Maybe they will be nervous and give me enough chances to break them because I may not be used to their style, but they're not used to being in a final," said Safin, who has won two of his four finals this season.
Stepanek, by contrast, will play his first final at such level.
