FES, Morocco, April 24 (UPI) -- Italian Alberta Brianti posted a straight-set victory over Simona Halep in Morocco Sunday, notching her first career WTA Tour championship.
Brianti downed Halep 6-4, 6-3 in the title match of the Moroccan Grand Prix after waiting out a rain delay.
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She had advanced to the final when her semifinal opponent, Dinara Safina, forfeited the match Saturday because of a gastrointestinal illness.
Both Brianti and the seventh-seeded Halep were competing in only their second career finals. The Italian fell to Shahar Peer in her other championship match at Guangzhou in 2009.
Halep, meanwhile, was defeated in the Fes final for the second straight year. She was bested by Iveta Benesova in 2010.
