Nikolay Davydenko reached his seventh final of the season at the Paris Masters on Saturday, beating Tommy Robredo 6-3, 5-7, 6-2.

Davydenko will meet 17th-seeded Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia on Sunday. Hrbaty won because 10th-seeded Tommy Haas of Germany retired because of gastroenteritis while trailing 6-4, 1-0.

``This is not the best way to win the semifinal,'' Hrbaty said. ``But still . . . I don't play finals every day so I'm happy to be there.''

Haas can no longer qualify for the season-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai. He needed to win the Paris Masters to overtake American James Blake, who takes the eighth and final spot.

The Nov. 12-19 event in China will feature Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Davydenko, Ivan Ljubicic, Andy Roddick, Robredo, David Nalbandian and Blake.

``Reaching a Grand Slam semifinal is special,'' Davydenko said. ``But reaching the final of a Masters for the first time is very important.''

His second-set loss was the first he'd lost all tournament. The fourth-seeded Davydenko now has 66 wins, second to top-ranked Roger Federer's 87.

The Russian also avenged his loss to Robredo in July's Bastad final, one of their two previous meetings _ which were tied at 1-1 _ with both on clay.

``It was a little bit different than clay,'' Davydenko said. ``It was important to play very fast and keep him running all the time. I think he became a bit tired.''

Davydenko won 87 per cent of points on first serve in the opening set. Showing great command and precision, he ran the sixth-ranked Spaniard all over the court.

Having lost the second set after being broken in the fifth and 11th games, Davydenko raced to a 3-0 lead in the third set and won the match when Robredo hit a forehand long.

``He has more or less the same tactic, stay on the baseline and hit from side to side,'' Robredo said. ``But he is playing so well that it is tough to follow his rhythm.''

Davydenko has a 3-1 career record over Hrbaty.

``If I was a betting man, my money would be on Davydenko,'' Robredo said. ``He is playing at his best level. His shot comes (toward you) so strong and so fast.''

Hrbaty said he will try to wear his opponent out.

``The longer it goes it's an advantage for me,'' Hrbaty said. ``He knows I am a tough player and I will fight.''

The Slovak even predicted how Sunday's match would pan out.

``A lot of fast rallies, a long match,'' He said. ``I like to play long games, and I hope it will be five sets.''