LISBON Yevgeny Kafelnikov finally ran out of steam at the Masters cup in his 100th singles match of the year, but the Russian still believes he will get to Sunday's final of the season-ending event.

Despite losing 6-1 6-4 to an in-form Andre Agassi at Lisbon's Atlantic pavilion on Thursday, the world number five was upbeat about his chances.

"I don't think I played a terrible match or anything," he said afterward.

"I think I was competitive and we had some very exciting points. You know, I wasn't consistent enough to maintain that high level throughout the whole match."

When asked if the one-sided result had dented his confidence in any way, the Russian insisted: "Absolutely not.

"I do believe I can play Andre in the final, otherwise I wouldn't be sitting here.

"I am sure my chances are very, very high I believe I can go all the way to the final.

"You know, there are a lot of ifs in the world today... I believe I can win."

(Reuter)