Andrea Petkovic claimed her first singles title on the WTA Tour in over six years thanks to an emphatic victory over Mayar Sherif at the Winners Open.

Petkovic was far too strong for her Egyptian opponent in Sunday's final, easing to a 6-1 6-1 triumph after just over an hour on court in Cluj-Napoca.

The impressive result sealed the German a seventh tournament win in her career, though she had not reigned at an event since her success in Antwerp back in February 2015.

Sherif had become the first Egyptian to reach a singles final on the WTA Tour and received praise from her opponent during the presentation ceremony.

"This has been a great week, but not only that, what's really important is you're paving the ground for all the girls in a part of the world which doesn't appreciate tennis as much as we do here in Europe," Petkovic said to the 25-year-old.

"It's so much more important than winning every title every week, though I'm sure you will get there as well.

"Just being out there competing, being the first Egyptian woman to make a WTA final, to break into the top 100, I think that's incredible. I want to congratulate you on that – keep going."

Petkovic raced into a 5-0 lead in the opening set before Sherif held serve; she also survived two break points to move ahead at the start of the second.

However, the second seed reeled off the next six games in a row, clinching the result with a forehand winner.