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The home hope lost 6-1 6-3 in just 67 minutes to Vekic, who will face another Briton, Emma Raducanu, in the final after the home No.1 beat Iva Jovic in the second semi-final.

Vekic wasted little time in finding her rhythm, holding her opening service game to love before converting her first break point on her way to a 3-0 lead in the first.

Although Boulter got on the board at 3-1, another break for Vekic in the sixth game helped clinch the set.

It was a similar story in the second set, with Vekic converting a break point early on as Boulter struggled on her own serve.

The Croatian sealed victory with her second match point as Boulter could not reach a powerful backhand down the line.

Despite defeating world No.2 Elena Rybakina in the last eight, as well as higher-ranked opponents in Jaqueline Cristian and Leylah Fernandez in the earlier rounds, Boulter could not keep her momentum going against Vekic.

The 29-year-old particularly struggled on serve, committing seven double-faults, while also winning none of her 10 second-serve points in the second set and just three from 18 overall.

Vekic, meanwhile, won 92 per cent of her first-serve points, 23 from 25 and 71 per cent of her points on second serve, 10 from 14.

She lost to Anna Blinkova in the qualifying for this tournament but has made the most of her run as a lucky loser, reaching a WTA-level final for the first time since 2024.