By Erik Gudris | Saturday, September 27, 2014

 

Kei Nishikori will take on France's Julian Benneteau who returns to the Kuala Lumpur final for the third year in a row.

Photo Credit: AP

Top seed Kei Nishikori of Japan will seek his third title of the season after getting through a tough semifinal at the Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur.

Nishikori withstood a strong challenge from Jarkko Nieminen of Finland before pulling away with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 win.

"Today was a little bit tough because he was playing well in the second set," Nishikori said to ATP.com "Maybe I relaxed a little bit. I had a couple of unforced errors in the last game of the second set. I tried to concentrate again and focus in the first couple of games in the third set. Everything worked well after that and I finished well, so I'm very happy."

Nishikori, who recently reached the US Open final, is still in the hunt for qualification for the ATP Tour finals in London.

Benneteau Back in Final For Third Straight Year

France's Julian Benneteau will once again seek his first ever ATP career title in the Kuala Lumpur final. Benneteau reached the final for a third straight year in a row with a 6-4, 6-4 win over No. 2 seed Ernests Gulbis in their semi.

The Frenchman never faced a break point during the match.

"I play well here," Benneteau said. "I like the conditions and this year I think it's a little bit faster. I'm very excited and happy the way I'm playing. I've given myself another chance to win a title."

Benneteau is 0-9 in career ATP finals. Nishikori leads the overall head to head 2 to 1.