Japan's Nishikori stuns Blake for first title
18 February 2008

DELRAY BEACH, Florida - Kei Nishikori became the first Japanese player to win an ATP event in nearly 16 years when he shocked top seed James Blake to win the Delray Beach International on Sunday.

The 18-year-old qualifier defeated the American 3-6 6-1 6-4 despite a gulf of over 200 places between their rankings. After dropping the first set, Nishikori found his range on service and his groundstrokes, bullying the more experienced Blake with a barrage of backhand winners.

Nishikori saved three break points in his first service game of the third set, then immediately broke Blake with a clean down-the-line backhand return that the American could not retrieve. The young Japanese player showed no nerves in the latter stages, serving out the match to love to claim the first title of his career.

Nishikori came into the tournament ranked 244th in the world while Blake was 12th.