Serena destroys Vesnina to advance to Wimbledon final

Serena Williams had her eyes fixed on a ninth Wimbledon final, and she never blinked.

In the semifinals Thursday, Williams systematically dismantled unseeded Russian upstart Elena Vesnina, blowing her off the court in just 48 minutes with a ridiculously dominant 6-2, 6-0 win.

From the outset, Serena was in complete control; of her body, of her mind, and of the mechanics of each point. Fluid, relaxed, and confident, she broke in the first game of the match, and never looked back. Vesnina had a remarkable tournament, making her first major singles semi (she'd never even been past the fourth round) at age 29, but she was more than just out of her depth - she was tossed overboard without a life vest.

The world No. 50 was off balance, behind in nearly every point, guessing on everything, and usually guessing wrong. Serena dragged her corner to corner, thumped blurring serves past her, scorched the grass with second-serve returns, painted the lines, and offered not a sliver of daylight.

Serena lost just five points in the second set. She lost three (!) service points all match. It equaled the second-most dominant Slam semifinal performance of her career, bested only by her 6-0, 6-1 win over Sara Errani at the 2013 French Open. When it was over, she seemed to apologize to Vesnina when they met at the net.

"I think nothing can be better than playing against Serena in a semifinal on Centre Court at Wimbledon," Vesnina said before the match. She may be rethinking that now.

Serena is off to the final to defend her title, and try for a fourth time to equal Steffi Graf's record of 22 majors. She'll meet Angelique Kerber, the woman who denied her at this year's Aussie Open.