EUGENIE BOUCHARD continued her march to the top of tennis yesterday to reach her first grand slam final, setting up a Wimbledon showdown with Petra Kvitova tomorrow.

The Canadian took a close first set 7-6 (7/5) against Simona Halep before romping home to take the second set 6-2.

Czech Kvitova won her chance to regain her 2011 Wimbledon title with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-1 win over Lucie Safarova.

The 24-year-old’s trip to SW19 had looked doubtful after she was forced to pull out of her Eastbourne International quarter-final against Heather Watson on June 19 with hamstring problems.

But despite having her leg heavily strapped throughout the tournament, she has dropped just one set — against Venus Williams in the third round — on her road to the final.

The Czech said she “can’t really describe” how she was feeling.

“It’s great to be back in the final. I’m just emotional from this match, but I still have two days to go to the final.

“I know what it’s like to be defending a title here. I really want to win my second title here and I will do everything that I can.”

Bouchard was also looking forward to the tie.

“I can’t wait to play. It’s my first grand slam final so I’m just going to go for it,” she said.

“I’ll have probably my toughest match yet so I’m looking forward to the challenge.

“I never say I’m surprised because I’ve put in a lot of hard work and it’s been years in the making.

“I believe in myself and I expect good results and I always want more.

“I’ve had a good start to season but I expect myself to do even better than that.”