TOKYO — Benoit Paire of France beat defending champion and local favorite Kei Nishikori 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 on Saturday to advance to the final of the Japan Open.
The unseeded Paire took the second set with a backhand winner to break the second-seeded Nishikori, who was bidding for his third Japan Open title.
Paire raced out to a 4-1 lead in the third set and broke Nishikori again to close it out, setting up a final against top-seeded Stan Wawrinka.
French Open winner Wawrinka beat Gilles Muller 6-4, 7-6 (5) to reach his fourth final of the year, taking the match when Muller angled his backhand volley wide in the tie-break.