The 6-3, 7-6 loss was Agassi's first defeat at the Rockodromo having won the inaugural title here in 2002 and he did not play in 2003.

Safin will face off Sunday against fourth seed David Nalbandian, who tamed the big-serve threat of Croatian Ivan Ljubicic 6-4, 6-4 to reach his second title shot of the season.

While failing to reach another final here, 34-year-old eight-time Grand Slam winner Agassi said he was relatively satisfied with his visit.

"I felt the week was a good one," said the American, winner of the last Masters at Cincinnati in August. "I came in without playing in a couple of weeks.

"I never quite settled into my best, but it was good to get through a few matches."

Agassi couldn't match the 35 winners and 12 aces off the hot Safin racket as he produced 24 unforced errors.

"I hung in during the first set and figured out a way to get more chances in the second set," said Agassi, now 33-12 on the season. "But I didn't quite get over the hump. Hopefully I can use a match like this to be better off next time."

But Agassi hedged on his commitment next week as top seed at the Stockholm Open, saying only when pressed: "I'm scheduled to play there."

Safin continued to marvel at the positive turn his season has taken over the past month.

The Russian who once stood world number 1 has been riding a wave of confidence since winning in Beijing in September.

"I got my confidence back after the summer," said the third seed, who has now passed Agassi in the chase for one of the four positions remaining for next month's season-ending event, the Masters Cup.

"I went to Bejing with no pressure and no expectations," said the Russian, holder of a dozen career titles. "I'm really happy with how things are going."

Safin came out determined in the opening set, cracking the Agassi serve in the sixth game to earn a 4-2 lead.

The Russian, finished up the opening encounter in buccaneer style, firing over a fifth ace for a set point and producing another to take the early lead after just 33 minutes.

Safin kept up his momentum over one hour, 34 minutes, putting over a service winner for two match points and advancing into the match against Nalbandian when Agassi pushed a forehand wide.