GUANGZHOU: Israel's Shahar Peer won her first WTA singles title in three years on Sunday, overcoming Italy's Alberta Brianti 6-3, 6-4 to claim the Guangzhou Open.

It was a long-awaited return to winning form for Peer, who had won three previous titles, but they were all in 2006 and she had failed to reach those heights again.

Ranked 57 in the world, the 22-year-old, whose claim to fame this year was being denied a visa to compete in the Dubai Open, made her move in the sixth game, breaking Brianti to lead 4-2.

She then held serve and took the first set 6-3.

The fifth seed kept her momentum going in the second set, exploiting some inconsistent serving by the Italian to grab an early break. She didn't look back, racing to the title in 88 minutes.

Eighth seed Brianti, 29, was playing in her first ever Tour final. It was also the first time she had taken on Peer, whose previous titles came in Pattaya, Prague and Istanbul.