Serena Williams blasts into Auckland Classic final, but misses out on final match with friend Wozniacki (VIDEO)

Serena Williams showed the world that she was in ominously good form ahead of the Australian Open as she ruthlessly dispatched teenage starlet Amanda Anisimova to advance to the final of the Auckland Classic.

Williams dished out a one-sided beating to the rising teenage star, thrashing her 6-1, 6-1 in just 45 minutes on Saturday to book her place in the final of the tournament against Jessica Pegula.

Williams won her first Grand Slam tournament before Anisimova was born, and the teenager admitted pre-match that facing Williams on court had been a dream of hers ever since she picked up a racket.

But that dream quickly turned into a nightmare as Williams, clearly in no mood for niceties, blitzed her younger, less-experienced opponent to pick up a dominant victory and power into the final of the tournament.

"I was definitely in the zone today and it was one of those days," said Williams after the match.

"I knew I was playing a really great player so I knew that I had to come out serious."

Williams has been battling on two fronts in Auckland, with her doubles campaign seeing her through to the final alongside friend and doubles partner Caroline Wozniacki.

And there could have been an interesting situation on finals day, with Wozniacki competing against Pegula in the other semi-final in the singles. Had she won, we would have seen the bizarre situation where the two friends face off in the singles final, then team up together in the doubles final.

But Pegula had other ideas, and defeated Wozniacki 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 to advance to the final against Williams.

The Australian Open will be Wozniacki's last tournament before she calls time on her tennis career, and Pegula paid tribute to her opponent after their semi-final battle in Auckland.

"Caroline has had an amazing career ... and I'm glad that I got to play her before she retired, but I am just happy to get the win and am excited to be in the final," she said.

"I definitely knew that if I played defensively, I wasn't going to win that battle, because she is the best in the world at that, so I knew I had to step in, take my chances and trust my game."