Kei Nishikori has won the Japan Open courtesy of a hard-fought 7-6 4-6 6-4 victory over Milos Raonic to clinch the title for the second time in three years.

In front of a partisan Japanese crowd, Nishikori edged past Raonic in a closely-fought tiebreak to move ahead in the first set.

However, Raonic - who was competing in his third successive Japan Open final - broke in the second and held his serve to level the match after two sets.

Nishikori refused to let the disappointment faze him and matched the Canadian throughout the final set, keeping the pressure on his opponent by forcing him to serve to stay in the match at 5-4.

The tension finally told for the Canadian, who lost the final game as he endured heartbreak in Tokyo for the third year running.