Kei Nishikori notches up 10th ATP title with victory over John Isner in Washington Open

Japan’s Kei Nishikori took a big step on his road back to the US Open final on Sunday by rallying to defeat John Isner and win the Washington Open title.

The 25-year-old Asian number one, last year’s US Open runner-up, defeated American John Isner 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 to capture his 10th career title at the combined ATP and WTA hard-court event, a warm-up for the US Open fortnight that starts in three weeks.

“I’m sure this win will help me a lot. It’s important for me to play good tennis this summer,” Nishikori said. “I’m looking forward to playing again in the US Open. I’m excited to play again on the big stage.”

Nishikori, who will rise one spot to match his career-high ranking of fourth in the world, won his third crown of the season after defending titles at Memphis and Barcelona.

Nishikori became the first Asian singles winner in the tournament’s 47-year history despite connecting on only 59 per cent of his first serves. He managed to win 42 of his 46 first-serve points despite only five aces to Isner’s 18.

“I returned really well,” Nishikori said. “I had to guess sometimes but I was there all the time and it was a great winning percentage on my first serve.