At the start of the year, Jerzy Janowicz couldn't afford to travel to the Australian Open. Now, only David Ferrer in the Paris Masters final stands in the Pole's way of his first major payday.
Both players advanced in straight sets Saturday, but Janowicz's semifinal was the more impressive in beating the experienced Gilles Simon of France, 6-4, 7-5.
Ferrer won 7-5, 6-3 against Michael Llodra after surviving an early onslaught from the Frenchman.
Having lost his previous three Masters finals, Ferrer - the only seeded player left in the tournament at No. 4 - is under pressure against the 69th-ranked player with nothing to lose.
"It's going to be a very difficult match because my opponent is playing very, very good," the Spaniard said. "It's very important for me and for my career."
Janowicz, who was playing in Futures tournaments at the start of the year, has beaten Philipp Kohlschreiber (ranked 19) Marin Cilic (15), Andy Mur-ray (3) and Janko Tipsarevic (9) before topping the 20th-ranked Simon.
Ten months ago, the 21-year-old Janowicz didn't have enough money and sponsorship to even get to Melbourne.
"I was a little bit angry because I had ranking to go to play qualifications of Australian Open," Janowicz said after becoming the first qualifier in eight years to reach the Paris Masters final.
"But this gave me some kind of extra motivation."
Money is unlikely to be a problem for a while. He will earn $234,865 if he loses and $479,000 for beating Ferrer, who lost twice to Rafael Nadal and once to Andy Murray in his three previous Masters finals.
Janowicz will bid for his first career title against Fer-rer, who is tied with Roger Federer for the most tour titles this year and can move ahead of the Swiss star if he clinches his seventh of the year.
After hugging Simon at the net, Janowicz let out a scream and dropped to the floor with his head in his hands after becoming the first player in 12 years to reach a final on his Masters debut.
Janowicz had previously reached only one career quarterfinal, in Moscow last month. He is expected to break into the top 30 next week after beginning the year ranked 221st.
Ferrer, meanwhile, saved 10 break points in the first set - seven of those in his first two service games.
Llodra had not lost his serve before in the tournament, but was broken three times by Ferrer - the first time in the 12th game.
Looking to become the first player outside the top 100 to reach a Masters final since Andrei Pavel here in 2003, Llodra started to tire late in the first set. He dumped a poor volley into the net to put himself set-point down and Ferrer clinched it with a backhand pass down the line.
