Washington, Feb 23 (IANS) Japanese player Nishioka Yoshihito has rallied to beat sixth seed Ugo Humbert of France 1-6, 6-4, 6-0 in the semifinal of the Delray Beach Open.

The 24-year-old, who captured his maiden ATP Tour title in his first final at the 2018 Shenzhen Open, did not reach a championship match between that victory and this week, reports Xinhua news agency.

"After the first set, I just figured out how to play against him and just kept trying to do it and then it worked," Nishioka said.

"If I lose the first set it's okay, I just figure out how he's going to play, how I have to play against him and then from the second set I say, 'Okay, let's do it this way.'"

Nishioka will play the big serving, second seed Milos Raonic of Canada or American fourth seed Reilly Opelka for the trophy on Sunday.

The Raonic-Opelka semifinal was pushed to Sunday morning due to rain.

--IANS kk/dpb