Thiem wins Rio Open for eighth title

Austrian Dominic Thiem will be one of the names to watch at this year's French Open after claiming a sixth clay court title of his career in Rio.

Dominic Thiem has claimed his eighth ATP singles title, beating Pablo Carreno Busta in the Rio Open. (AAP)

Dominic Thiem claimed his eighth ATP singles title and his sixth on clay with a 7-5 6-4 victory over Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain in the Rio Open final on Sunday.

The Austrian is ranked No.8 by the ATP and was seeded second in Rio. But he became the favourite as soon as top-seeded Kei Nishikori was beaten in the first round.

Thiem now heads to this week's Mexican Open in Acapulco where he is the defending champion in the hard-court tournament.

Carreno Busta is now winless in four matches against Thiem.

The Spaniard won the doubles title on Saturday with teammate Pablo Cuevas, defeating Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah 6-4 5-7 10-8.