Kei Nishikori has finally snapped a title drought that stretched 52 tournaments, nine finals defeats and nearly three years.

The Japanese world No.9 got the monkey off his back in a 6-4 3-6 6-2 defeat of impressive 22-year-old Daniil Medvedev in Sunday night’s Brisbane International final.

Second-seeded Nishikori peeled off four straight games to erase a 3-0 deficit to win the first set and ensured missed opportunities in the second set didn’t haunt him as he sprinted clear in the decider.