Sara Errani ended Anna Schmiedlova's hopes of a first WTA singles title as she claimed the Rio Open crown with a straight-sets victory on Sunday.

Errani had endured a disappointing start to the 2015 season prior to her run in Rio de Janeiro, failing to go beyond the third round of any tournament.

But the world number 16 capped off a fine competition in Brazil with a 7-6 (7-2) 6-1 win at the WTA International clay-court event showpiece.

Schmiedlova had lost just one set on her way to the final and made a fast start to this encounter by breaking Errani in the first game.

However, that proved to be just the first of eight breaks of serve in a frenetic first set, with both players saving set points to force a tie-break.

Errani's quality shone through in the shootout, though, as Schmiedlova quickly began to fade.

And Errani carried the momentum into the second set, which she dominated to seal the eighth singles title of her career.