Special K: Jubilant Kafelnikov Handcuffs Haas

Thrilled by his consistent, heady play and a chance at a second Grand Slam singles title, Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov left his dour image in the locker room and took a joyful stroll through Tommy Haas in Melbourne Park on Friday, pushing the powerful German teenager around in a 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 semifinal victory.

“Being in another Grand Slam final, it‘s a wonderful feeling,” said Kafelnikov, 1996 French Open champion. “I‘m as happy as I‘ve ever been.”

Under the tutelage of his new coach, Larry Stefanki, the multi-talented Kafelnikov has rediscovered the cool, decisive ground offensive that made him the king of Paris three years ago. But the No. 10 seed - who was recently married and has a baby daughter - said his life has changed significantly since then.

“I‘m definitely not the Yevgeny that I was three years ago,” Kafelnikov said. “I have a lot more experience, not only on the court, but in my personal life, and that‘s important. You cannot buy those things - to go into a pharmacy and ask for such experiences.”

Serving with the deceptiveness of a MIG fighter jet, the 24-year-old Russian rocketed 16 aces and only allowed the free-swinger from the famed Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in the US one break in the one hour, 53 minute match.

The match‘s stat sheet told the story of the affair: Kafelnikov ripped 41 winners and committed only 27 unforced errors, while ironically, Haas committed 41 unforced errors and smacked 27 winners.

“I missed a lot of balls by [a small amount] today and you can‘t afford that against somebody as confident as Yevgeny,” Haas said. “He‘s going to wear you down when you do those things.”

The swarthy blonde from Sochi - who has grown a grizzly beard over the fortnight - said that his 20-year opponent didn‘t play intelligently. “Tommy has to learn,” Kafelnikov said.

“He will learn the cost of every point he faces. He was up a couple break points on me and he played stupid shots. He‘s playing the great shots at the wrong time and it is important to play the right shot in the important time of the match.”

Haas replied, “I don‘t think you can learn that. You either have that in you, or you don‘t. It‘s fine for him to say. He‘s obviously a good player.”

The 1.9 metre Kafelnikov, who competed in more matches than player on the ATP Tour last year, said he doesn‘t have the legs that he used to, but has learned to bide his time in a Grand Slam. “I‘m looking at things completely different now and trying to save my energy for last, and hopefully my best for last, too,” Kafelnikov said.

Kafelnikov has one final hurdle to overcome before Grand Slam glory is his once again - red-hot Swede Thomas Enqvist in Sunday‘s final.