Kei Nishikori earned his third title of the season on the ATP tour with a 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 victory in the Malaysian Open final on Sunday.
The top-seeded Nishikori, who defeated three top-10 players en route to the U.S. Open final earlier this month, defeated fourth seed Julien Benneteau in 1 hour, 47 minutes. Nishikori, ranked eighth in the world, improved to 3-1 in his career against the Frenchman, who last beat him in 2007.
"It was a tough match," Nishikori said. "After I won the first set, I relaxed and was able to play attacking tennis."
In the first set, Benneteau fought off nine break points before Nishikori broke his opponent's serve for the first time in the 10th game to tie it 5-5. Both players held serve to send it to a tiebreak.
In the second set, both players held serve through six games, with Nishikori fending off two break points without even threatening to break Benneteau's serve. At 3-3, however, Nishikori suddenly seized control by dominating the next three games before cruising to victory.
"I am aiming to win the next tournament in Japan as well," said Nishikori, who will take to the court this week in the Japan Open, where he will be the fourth seed.
The men's draw at Tokyo's Ariake Tennis Forest Park includes World No. 4 Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland and No. 6 Milos Raonic of Canada, both of whom Nishikori defeated at Flushing Meadows en route to the U.S. Open final.
Nishikori, who won the tournament in 2012, is entered in both doubles and singles. According to organizers, his first appearance will be in doubles on Sept. 30 with partner Yasutaka Uchiyama. His first-round singles match will be the following day against Croatia's Ivan Dodig, who is ranked 64th in the world.