Mayar Sherif said winning the Parma Open “means a lot” to her country after she became the first woman from Egypt to win a WTA title.
Sherif beat the top seed and world number seven Maria Sakkari of Greece 7-5, 6-3 in the final on Saturday.
As well as lifting the trophy, 26-year-old Sherif also achieved her first ever win over a top 10 player.
“It means a lot for the people back home, my family, all the hard work, all the mental struggles in the last weeks,” Sherif said after her win.
“I’m just thrilled and happy. This was never expected.”
On a demanding day, Sherif had to play her semi-final and final within hours of each other after Friday’s schedule had been washed out by rain.
It took her almost three hours to defeat sixth-seeded Ana Bogdan of Romania 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in the last four.
“I’m exhausted,” Sherif said after coming back from being an early break down in both sets of the claycourt final.
“Today was a very tough day for me, many hours on court. I’m very happy that I pulled it off. I had to dig very deep.”
“The first match was emotionally and mentally tough. There were so many key moments in the match, a lot of pressure. But after I won that match it gave me a lot of confidence so I used that for the match right after.”
Sherif, who is ranked 74 in the world, has been battling back to fitness after a foot injury she suffered at the French Open earlier this year.
