PARIS: Novak Djokovic extended his winning streak to 21 matches and stayed on course for a third straight Paris Masters title after beating Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland 6-3, 3-6, 6-0 yesterday.
After defeating Wawrinka for the second time since losing to him in the French Open final and for the 19th time in 23 matches, top-ranked Djokovic bids for his 10th title of the season when he plays No. 2 Andy Murray in the final today.
Murray earlier beat David Ferrer 6-4, 6-3 to record a fourth consecutive win against the eighth-seeded Spaniard, and reach his first final at the Paris indoor arena.
Wawrinka looked sluggish in the first set, perhaps unsurprisingly, seeing as Djokovic was probably already asleep when Wawrinka's quarterfinal against Rafael Nadal ended at 1:12 a.m. Wawrinka said it was nearly 4 a.m. by the time he got into bed.
"I have no regrets, I gave everything," Wawrinka said. "Obviously, fatigue is there and it was very hard to fight today, but I'm happy with the way I managed to push him."
The fourth-seeded Wawrinka ended Djokovic's 29-set winning streak to level the match, but totally crumbled in the decider, dropping his serve three times.
The 10-time Grand Slam champion nailed his third match point when Wawrinka's forehand sailed out, and the players hugged at the net.
Djokovic took early control, breaking Wawrinka and holding with a superb flicked backhand drop shot followed by an ace to lead 4-1.
Wawrinka tried to shorten the points but his extravagant shots did not always land in.
Djokovic broke at the start of the second set, and held for 2-0, then Wawrinka started finding his range, breaking Djokovic at the fifth attempt in a long fourth game, and holding to love with a huge ace for 3-2, and breaking Djokovic again.
Frustration got the better of Djokovic when he missed three chances to break back in the next game, and he received a warning after smashing his racket against the sole of his shoe.
Wawrinka received a huge roar from the Paris crowd after holding to love with a volley at the net, but a thrilling third set the crowd hoped for never happened.
"I had no energy to come back at 0-3 down (in the final set), he started playing too fast," Wawrinka said. "Given how late I finished last night, and the battle I had against Nadal, it was exhausting."
Murray beat Ferrer in the French Open quarterfinals this year and leads him 11-6 overall, including six of their last seven encounters.
He overcame an early break in each set, reeled off the last five games of the match, and quickly secured victory on his first match point.
"I played some good tennis. I managed to shorten a lot of the points," Murray said. "There was some variety in there with the way the points finished, which was pleasing."
The Briton is chasing his fifth title of the season and 36th of his career. His last was in August, when he beat Djokovic in the Rogers Cup final in Montreal.
Murray appeared in control after opening up a 3-1 lead. But Ferrer broke back, held for 4-3 and had Murray in deep trouble at 0-40 on his serve in the eighth game, only to let that advantage slip.
Murray punished that lapse by breaking him to love, then in the next game hitting a superb backhand lob on the run to earn a set point, which he clinched when Ferrer netted a weak backhand.
Murray had already saved three break points by the time Ferrer broke for a 3-1 lead in the second set.
But again, he could not punish Murray, who sealed victory when Ferrer's attempted drop shot hit the net.
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