The unseeded Russian beat Marcos Baghdatis to reach the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time at the French Open.
Rafael Nadal battled the rejuvenated Australian to finally bury him 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 in the Hamburg Masters semi-final.
The two players were named as the top seeds for the men's and women's singles event at the Australian Open which starts on Monday.
The defending champion is on collision course with Lleyton Hewitt, the man whose title he took.
The 19-year-old will equal Guillermo Vilas's 1977 record of 53 consecutive wins on clay if he retains the Rome Masters title this week.
The world number nine beat Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 7-6 (6), 7-5 in a match that lasted over two hours at the Chennai Open.
The sixth-seed from Ecuador saved five match points to defeat Spanish teenager Rafael Nadal.
The Dutchman Martin soared up the ATP Tour rankings to 15th from 46th place after reaching the French Open final. \n\n
Last year's winner Carlos Moya was beaten 6-4, 7-6 by local wildcard Potito Starace.
Safin was followed through the exit door at the Nasdaq Open by fifth-seeded Spaniard Carlos Moya.
While Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova was buried 6-0, 6-0 by Lindsay Davenport in the semi-finals.
Gaston Gaudio beat Alberto Martin in straight sets to set up an all-Argentine final against wildcard Mariano Puerta in the Buenos Aires Open.
Paradorn's role as the flag-bearer of Asian tennis makes him a hero throughout the region.
The former world No. 1 pair will play against each other at the ATP event in January.
In the semi-finals, Spain beat France while the United States accounted for Belarus.
Russian fourth seed Mikhail Youzhny made a winning start to the New Year as he routed world no. 2 Rafael Nadal 6-0, 6-1 in the final of the Chennai Open on Sunday.
The sixth seed was beaten in the first round of the Australian Open by Robin Soderling.
Hewitt was in commanding form as he beat Carlos Moya 6-2, 6-4 to reach the semi-finals of the Cincinnati Masters, setting up a clash with top seed Roger Federer.
Prakash Amritraj will face Harsh Mankad in the first round of the ATP Tour Tata Open at Chennai.
Carlos Moya, Paradorn Srichaphan and Felix Mantilla are the other top players who have already confirmed their entry.
The claycourt specialist won 6-4 6-4 as he followed up last week's win in Vina del Mar, Chile with another title, his first on home soil.
'It's a new era and will be like adapting to a different routine. Moya has come with new ideas and new methods of working that have worked well and we are excited'
'If he can stay as healthy as he is now, without injury, motivated, looking after himself the way he is....'
They were upset by their unseeded opponents on the third day of the Chennai Open.
Kirsten Flipkens led India Aces to a tight one-point win over defending champions Singapore Slammers with her decisive victory over Kiki Bertens in the do-or-die women's singles clash in IPTL, in Tokyo on Saturday.
The victory gave Agassi a record six Key Biscayne titles.
Seven-time major winner John McEnroe has ended his coaching role with Canada's Milos Raonic ahead of the year's final grand slam, the US Open.
Britain's Andy Murray believes Gala Leon's appointment as Spain's Davis Cup captain was handled "horribly".
Toni Nadal has given a lukewarm response to the decision by the Spanish Tennis Federation (RFET) to appoint former women's Tour player Gala Leon as Spain's new Davis Cup captain.
The Spanish tennis federation (RFET) said on Thursday it had decided not to extend the contract of Davis Cup captain Alex Corretja when it expires at the end of this year but has yet to name a successor.
Rafael Nadal has cast doubt on his participation at Wimbledon, saying he needs to see how his body recovers after a long clay court campaign culminated in an 11th French Open title.
The new president of the Spanish tennis federation (RFET) has fired the nation's first female Davis Cup captain, Gala Leon, two weeks before the Group I second-round tie away to Russia.
Rafael Nadal will play for the Indian side in the second edition of the International Premier Tennis League.
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