Japan Open 2015: Saturday Tennis Scores, Results and Finals Schedule

Benoit Paire set up a thrilling final showdown with Stan Wawrinka at the 2015 Japan Open as he upset local favourite Kei Nishikori, while the Swiss star overcame Gilles Muller on Saturday.

Nishikori looked to be heading through in style after a dominant first set, but Paire showed remarkable resilience and fought back to win 1-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Wawrinka progressed in straight sets 6-4, 7-6 (5) as he held off a valiant attempt at a comeback by Muller in the second set.

Here are the results from Saturday's action, the remaining schedule and a closer look at the two semi-finals.

Result	Score
[1] Stan Wawrinka (SUI) def. Gilles Muller (LUX)	6-4, 7-6 (5)
Benoit Paire (FRA) def. [2] Kei Nishikori (JPN)	1-6, 6-4, 6-2

Date	Fixture
Sunday, Oct. 11	[1] Stan Wawrinka (SUI) vs. Benoit Paire (FRA)

Paire Upsets Nishikori

The second seed cruised through the opening set with consummate ease as he took just 20 minutes to rack up two unanswered breaks, per TennisTV:

The Frenchman was resurgent in the second set, though, as some uncharacteristic unforced errors crept into the Japanese star's game.

Paire showed great resilience as he saved five break points, allowing him to hold on for a decisive late break:

The 26-year-old broke Nishikori again to take a 3-0 lead in the final set. Nishikori was almost offered a lifeline at 4-2 when Paire, 40-0 up, made two double faults as he gifted a break point to his opponent, but the world No. 6 could not take it as Paire conjured up a second-serve ace.

From there, it looked like there would only be one winner thanks to incredible returns such as this:

In the other match, Wawrinka raced through his first set in little over half an hour.

The Swiss star was particularly clinical on both his first and second serve, ensuring Muller never had an opportunity to break him.

The Luxembourgian had some success at the net, though, per TennisTV:

Muller returned stronger in the second set. The pair exchanged early breaks before a disastrous double-fault by Muller at 4-4 handed Wawrinka a golden opportunity to serve out the match.

The 32-year-old responded magnificently, though, and broke back to force a tiebreaker, in which he ran his illustrious opponent close but to no avail.

Wawrinka will face Paire in the final.

Wawrinka has dropped just one set in the tournament so far, compared with Paire's four—one in every match.

The Swiss star has won four of their five previous meetings and will be a firm favourite to win the final, though Paire's outstanding showing offers a serious warning against complacency.

Nevertheless, expect him to win his fifth ATP title of the year on Sunday.