Mayar Sherif became the first woman from Egypt to win a WTA Tour title on Saturday when she defeated top seed and world number seven Maria Sakkari in the Parma final.

The 26-year-old triumphed over her Greek rival 7-5, 6-3, also achieving her first ever top 10 win.

Sherif, ranked 74 in the world, carved out her place in history on a gruelling day which saw her playing a semi-final and final back-to-back after Friday's schedule had been washed out by rain.

She finished the final with 10 winners to 11 unforced errors and generated 13 break points, converting six. Sakkari hit 22 winners to 22 unforced errors.

Earlier on Saturday, Sherif, who this year became the first Egyptian woman to win a main draw match at Roland Garros, had required almost three hours to defeat sixth-seeded Ana Bogdan 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in the semi-finals.

Sakkari eased through to her first final since Indian Wells with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Danka Konvinic of Montenegro.