Alastair Grant/Associated Press

Serena Williams barely broke a sweat as she defeated Maria Sharapova 6-2, 6-4 to reach the 2015 Wimbledon women's final.

Sharapova put in a thoroughly disappointing performance in the first set, as Williams took just 33 minutes to close out the opener. The Russian showed far more resilience in the second set, but Williams remained comfortable throughout.

The result was confirmed by Wimbledon's official Twitter feed:

Williams will face Garbine Muguruza on Saturday, as the Spaniard defeated Agnieszka Radwanska in three sets earlier on Thursday.

Prior to the match, the Telegraph's Daniel Schofield described the rivalry between the pair as being "built on antipathy, mistrust and malice," but that rarely surfaced on such a one-sided occasion.

This was the American's 17th consecutive victory over Sharapova in a run stretching back to the 2004 final at All England Club, when the Russian won her only Wimbledon title to date.

Sharapova had not been entirely convincing throughout the tournament, with her serve in particular letting her down, and her poor record against Williams may have been weighing on her mind.

Pavel Golovkin/Associated Press

Three double-faults in the opening game gifted Williams a break, as Sharapova struggled for any sort of rhythm.

ESPN's Brad Gilbert provided insight into the 28-year-old's troubles:

A number of unforced errors into the net made things difficult for Sharapova in her second service game, but an excellent volleyed winner helped the Russian to hold.

Williams used the opening game as a springboard for the rest of the set, however, breaking her opponent again as she raced into a 5-1 lead with some powerful serves and exquisite returns.

As the New York Times' Ben Rothenberg noted, the 20-time Grand Slam-winner was scarcely made to work for her points:

Sharapova held her serve once more to make it 5-2, but Williams cruised to the first set, serving the final game out, 40-15.

As the BBC noted on its TV broadcast, the Russian made nine unforced errors and hit just four winners in the first set, compared with Williams' seven and 12, respectively. Those stats highlighted her inability to threaten Williams on the relatively rare occasions they played out significant rallies.

Two strong service games for Sharapova early in the second set hinted at a comeback as she improved the depth and location of her serve significantly, but Williams always looked comfortable.

At 2-2, Sharapova's resistance finally crumbled, and the 33-year-old broke her once again thanks to yet another double-fault.

Suzanne Plunkett/Associated Press

Along with her serve, Sharapova's groundstrokes remained a problem throughout the match, as she failed to find any real depth on her shots. However, the world No. 4 did show flashes of quality when she saved three break points to bring the score back to 4-3, admittedly courtesy of some uncharacteristically loose play from Williams.

The result was never in doubt though, as Serena battled back to 5-3.

Sharapova saved a match point while defending her own serve once more, but Williams closed the match out with ease on her own serve.

Ultimately, the semi-final was one of the most comfortable of Williams' career. The five-time Wimbledon winner rarely had to get out of first gear to overcome Sharapova on this occasion.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, Williams now has the third-most victories in women's Grand Slam competitions in the Open Era:

Up next for the world No. 1 is Muguruza, who impressed in her battling victory over Radwanska on Thursday. But the 21-year-old's lack of experience will give the American a big advantage in their showdown.

The youngster will have nothing to lose in her maiden Grand Slam final, but Williams is the ultimate closer, winning 20 of her 24 career finals.

A sixth Wimbledon title and another big step toward another "Serena Slam" awaits for Williams.