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Having stormed through the first set, Vekic was given a much sterner test in the second, but she prevailed 6-0 7-6 (8-6) to beat the home favourite in one hour and 48 minutes.

It took Vekic just 28 minutes to claim the first set, dropping only 13 points in the process as Raducanu struggled to get going and appeared hampered by a leg issue early on.

However, in just her third WTA final, Raducanu soon dug in to fight back.

She got the first break of the second set, converting on her third attempt to take a 3-1 lead and then went 5-2 up to put her on the brink of a decider.

Vekic, a lucky loser who profited from Marta Kostyuk's withdrawal through injury, then reeled off four straight games to gain the lead, having also defended two set points along the way.

Raducanu did fend off three match-point attempts to force the tie-break before fighting her way back to level terms again from 4-1 down.

The Croatian eventually got over the line on her fifth match point, though, to claim the fifth title of her career.

Meanwhile, at the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships, Robin Montgomery claimed her first WTA singles title after Barbora Krejcikova withdrew from the showpiece through illness.

Ranked 484th in the world, Montgomery is the lowest-ranked player to win a WTA title since 2023, when Elina Svitolina (ranked 508th) won in Strasbourg.