Yevgeny Kafelnikov dismissed unseeded Swede Andreas Vinciguerra 6-1 7-6 to qualify for his fifth Masters Series tournament final in Paris today.
The former French Open and Australian Open champion was always on top during the 72 minutes of the semifinal. He raced into a 5-0 lead, took the first set 6-1, and was 2-0 up in the second all within half an hour against a hapless Vinciguerra.
The Swede fought bravely in the second set and broke back at 3-3 to maintain some suspense, but fourth-seeded Kafelnikov broke him again in the ninth game before losing his serve in the next game as he was serving for the match.
In the decisive tiebreak, the Russian led 3-0 but Vinciguerra again refused to bow and fought back to lead 5-4.
He then saved a match point before surrendering on the second one, his backhand return finishing in the net.
