CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- Carlos Moya triumphed on Saturday in the first all-Spanish semifinal in the 103-year history of the $2.95 million Tennis Masters Series - Cincinnati.

The 16th-seeded Moya dropped just nine points on his serve en route to a 6-3, 6-4 victory over fellow countryman and eighth seed Juan Carlos Ferrero.

In Sunday's final, Moya will battle either top seed Lleyton Hewitt of Australia or unseeded Fernando Gonzalez of Chile.

Moya beat Ferrero for just the second time in seven all-time meetings. His only other win came in their first career encounter at the 1999 Barcelona claycourt event.

In the first Tennis Masters Series semifinal on hard courts ever to feature a pair of Spaniards, Moya never was threatened on his serve and converted 2-of-3 break-point opportunities to get past Ferrero.

Moya took all 17 points when he approached the net, but his groundstrokes also were sound.

"My forehand is working really well lately," Moya said. "I tried to control the game with my forehand and I was lucky to hit many winners today."

Moya also became the first Spanish finalist at Cincinnati in 29 years. Manuel Orantes lost to Romania's Ilie Nastase in the 1973 final. No player from Spain has won the Cincinnati title in the 103-year history of the event.

The 25-year-old Moya reached his first Tennis Masters Series final since 1999 at Indian Wells. The former world No. 1 retired in the second round of the 1999 U.S. Open with a back injury, struggled with it throughout the 2000 season and finally believes he is back to full fitness.

"I came here and I was very confident," Moya said. "I won two tournaments in a row and I always feel very well here on hard court. I think my game turns out pretty well on this surface. I reached the final in Australia a few years ago, the semifinals at the U.S. Open and the final in the (Tennis Masters Cup)."

Moya already has claimed claycourt titles this year at Acapulco, Bastad and Umag.

Before coming to Cincinnati, the 22-year-old Ferrero had won this year's Tennis Masters Series event at Monte Carlo, defeating Moya in the claycourt final, and reached the final at Roland Garros.

But Ferrero, who is known as a claycourt specialist, can be pleased with his week, having reached the semifinal of a Tennis Masters Series hardcourt tournament for the first time in his career.

Moya will look to capture his second career Tennis Masters Series title after winning at Monte Carlo in 1998.

Hewitt may have established himself as the top hardcourt player in the world in Friday's quarterfinals.

The 21-year-old Hewitt recorded five service breaks and battled for a 7-5, 6-3 victory over sixth seed Andre Agassi to reach the semifinals.

Hewitt and Agassi entered their quarterfinal with the best hardcourt records this year on the ATP Tour. But the world No. 1, who also beat Agassi in the San Jose hardcourt final in March, has taken both two meetings in 2002.

The reigning U.S. Open champion, Hewitt has added four trophies to his career haul this year. In addition to San Jose, he took hardcourt title at the TMS event in Indian Wells and grasscourt crowns at the Queen's Club and Wimbledon.

Hewitt is looking to advance past the Cincinnati semifinals, where he fell to compatriot Patrick Rafter a year ago.

The Australian will take on the unheralded Gonzalez, who recorded 44 winners and surprised 12th seed Andy Roddick of the United States, 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (8-6).

Gonzalez has reached just his second ATP semifinal of 2002. In front of his fellow countrymen, he won the Vina del Mar claycourt title in February.

The 22-year-old has posted some of his best results this year at big events. Gonzalez reached the round of 16 at the Australian Open, TMS - Miami and TMS - Rome.

The top prize is $392,000.