On the eve of the start of the Chennai Open, Thai tennis ace Paradorn Srichaphan was asked what were his prospects in the tournament and he quipped: a summit clash with Carlos Moya of Spain that he would like to win.

A week later, the mercurial player is in the finals of the Chennai Open and will clash with Moya for the first ATP title of 2005.

This is the fourth final for Srichaphan, who lost twice very narrowly.

Speaking after winning the match against un-seeded Tomas Zib of the Czech Republic, the young man from a small Thai village famous for its kick boxers told : "The first set was tough but I tried to slow him down in the next set and it helped."

Srichaphan was optimistic about his chances in the final. "Last year it was a close match, which Moya won 7-5 in the final tiebreak."

Avoiding any predictions about the result of the finals, Srichaphan said: "Anything can happen, you have to wait till the end of the game."

Referring to his past, Srichaphan said: "I have come a long way from the day I walked to the centre court at Wimbledon to face Andre Agassi in 2002.

"That was the moment of my life, it was great going to be out there as a lesser-known player and to win the match," he said with a smile.

Commenting on Indian tennis, Srichaphan said there was great talent and potential in the country that needed to be properly nurtured. Citing his own example, he said: "If I can do it, you can do it too."

Srichaphan is a big crowd puller at the Chennai Open. Young tennis players of the town mob him to seek his advice and he does not disappoint them.

"Eat light before the match. After the match you have something heavy, exercise with light weights at the gym and 15 to 20 minutes of running is compulsory after tennis," Srichaphan advised young tennis players at an event organised by Adidas.

His words for upcoming tennis players -- "Keep practising, have your dreams, try hard and never give up."