The Bulgarian had not triumphed since the Aegon Championships at Queens in 2014 but that wait is over after he overcame third seed Nishikori 6-2 2-6 6-3.

After saving three break points on his own serve in the early stages of the opening set Dimitrov turned the screw with four successive games to move ahead.

It was a similar story in the second set but with the roles reversed, Nishikori this time finding the advantage to level the match and force a decider.

Any hope Nishikori - who had a medical time out for a thigh problem ahead of the third set - had of completing the comeback eventually fell away, though, as Dimitrov composed himself once again.

An early opening on the Nishikori serve passed him by but at the business end of the set the seventh seed made no mistake, converting his second break opening with an array of powerful forehands.

That came in the eighth game and gave Dimitrov the chance to serve for the match, a task he handled with aplomb to end his four-match losing streak in finals.