BEIJING (AFP) - Flying Finn Jarkko Nieminen soared into his third semi-final of the season, stunning third seed David Nalbandian 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 at the 500,000-dollar China Open.
The 23-year-old ranked 71st in the world produced his best performance since February when he reached the final four at Dubai, losing to Roger Federer.
He also played a semi at the start of the year in Adelaide, taking a straight-sets loss to Dominik Hrbaty.
Nieminen will next face Russian fifth seed Marat Safin, who moved ahead over American Kevin Kim, 6-2, 6-4.
Safin, a former world number one, lifted his last title in November, 2002.
He got on and off court in a hurry against Kim, ranked 143.
"I'm playing much better," said the fifth seed. "I'm more confident on court and it was easy for me to find my game today.
"I'm already thinking about the semi-finals."
Nieminen is showing continuing form after recovering from a wrist injury which kept him away for much of the spring and early summer.
He now stands 18-13 in 2004 after not having played from mid-April to early July.
"Nalbandian beat me twice in the summer of 2003," said Nieminen. "But both times we went 7-6. I think he's one of the best players - and I like to test myself against guys like him.
"Our matches have always been high quality."
The Argentine admitted he got caught out, beaten by the better player.
"We always have difficult matches and he was better today," said the 2002 Wimbledon finalist. "I didn't play great but I have no excuses.
"My fitness was fine and I wasn't tired from jet-lag."
Nieminen roared back in the final set as he broke for a second time for 3-0, winning after Nalbandian saved four break points. The Finn had all the momentum required to coast to victory after one hour, 54 minutes.
Paradorn Srichaphan stretched his Asian domination of Korean's Hyung-taik Lee to three straight victories as he rolled 6-4, 6-3 into the last four.
The sixth-seeded Paradorn from Thailand has never played Lee outside the region, with the inaugural edition of the Beijing event the top venue so far for their rivalry.
Paradorn improved his record this season to 36 wins, 22 defeats as he rained down 11 aces in the 75-minute quarter-final victory.
"Compared to the first two round, I'm playing much better," said the winner, now 36-22 this season with one title. "I played smarter today - I didn't try to go for any crazy shots.
Paradorn will come up against Russian Mikhail Youzhny, a winner over eighth seed Hrbaty 6-4, 6-2.
"It's great to be in another semi-final, especially in Asia," said Paradorn.
"There is always a lot of pressure on me when I play Lee; I'm the Asian No. 1 and he's No. 2. It's always tough to play him."