Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Kei Nishikori of Japan captured his third title of 2014 with a straight-set victory over Julien Benneteau in the final of the Malaysian Open, keeping the Frenchman winless in 10 career title matches.

Nishikori, the U.S. Open runner-up, claimed a 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 triumph on Sunday for his sixth career title. He previously won this year in Memphis and Barcelona. In addition to his loss to Marin Cilic at Flushing Meadows earlier this month, he was also beaten by Rafael Nadal in the Madrid final.

Not only did Benneteau drop to 0-10 in finals, he also lost the title match at this event for the third year in a row. Joao Sousa beat him last year and Juan Monaco knocked him off in 2012.

"I tried to play my best and I almost did it," lamented Benneteau. "I'm disappointed with the loss, but very happy with the level of my game. It's hard to keep that level of intensity in every point and every game. I need to improve this to be more consistent."

Benneteau had a chance to serve for the first set, but Nishikori finally converted a break after missing on his first nine chances. After winning the tiebreaker, Nishikori picked up the only break of the second set, saving two against his own serve.

"It was a really tough start, because he was playing so aggressive," said Nishikori. "I was waiting for my opportunity. I had so many break points and I couldn't take them. In the last game, he got a little bit tight and I took my chance. After that I played much better and I think he was getting a little bit tired in the second set. I tried to raise my level. It wasn't my best tennis, but it's good to win like this."

Nishikori, who picked up a first prize of $165,000, improved to 6-4 all-time in finals and 3-1 lifetime against Benneteau.