As the top seed in this WTA Premier hard-court event, Sharapova enjoyed a bye in the first round before dispatching both Yaroslava Shvedova and Carla Suarez Navarro in straight sets.
And it was a similar story in her semi-final against Elina Svitolina, who had seen off third seed Angelique Kerber in her quarter-final on Thursday.
Sharapova prevailed 6-1 6-3 against the Ukrainian, and will now meet second seed Ivanovic, who overcame Varvara Lepchenko 7-6 (7-2) 6-4.
World number two Sharapova breezed through the first set, with breaks in games four and six earning her the lead.
Sharapova then made a flying start to the second, racing into a 4-0 advantage with two more breaks, but Svitolina was able to rescue four match points, including one break of her own to claw it back to 5-3.
Her respite was short-lived, however, as Sharapova eventually got over the line in the next game to set up a showdown with Ivanovic.
The Serbian world number seven suffered a shaky start in her semi-final as Lepchenko broke in the very first game.
Serving for the set at 5-4, Lepchenko allowed Ivanovic to break back, before the next two games also went against the serve to bring a tie-break.
There, Ivanovic took control early on and carried that momentum into the start of the second set, where she took a 5-1 lead.
On the brink of defeat, Lepchenko showed her fighting spirit by saving six match points - including gaining one break back - but a remarkable comeback was not to be as Ivanovic held in game 10 to book her spot in the final.
