Wimbledon 2016: Serena Williams destroys Elena Vesnina in under an hour to reach her ninth final at SW19

Serena Williams beat Elena Vesnina 6-2, 6-0 inside an hour to reach a second consecutive Wimbledon final

Serena Williams beat Elena Vesnina 6-2, 6-0 to reach the women's Wimbledon final (PA)

Serena Williams thrashed unseeded Russian Elena Vesnina 6-2 6-0 to reach a ninth Wimbledon final on Thursday.

The top seed and defending champion was totally dominant from the outset, sealing victory against the world number 50 in 49 minutes on a sunny Centre Court.

She could face sister Venus for the ninth time in a grand slam final if her elder sibling defeats Germany's Angelique Kerber in the day's second semi-final.

"It's never easy out there and every point you have to fight for," the 34-year-old, who lost three points on serve, said in a courtside interview.

"It's weird, I can't believe I'm in the finals again. I'm zero and two for (grand slam finals) this year so I want to get at least one."

Victory on Saturday would see the world number one draw level with Steffi Graf's professional era record of 22 grand slam titles.

Additional reporting by Reuters.