Federer has won 20 consecutive finals. He'll try to join seven-time champion Pete Sampras and five-time winner Bjorn Borg as the only men since 1936 to win Wimbledon three years in a row.
Davenport, the 1999 champion, won the most recent of her three major titles at the Australian Open in 2000.
After losing in the Wimbledon semifinals last year, she spoke of retirement, but a subsequent string of four consecutive hard-court titles changed her mind.
She was runner-up to Serena Williams at the Australian Open in January. Regardless of Saturday's result, she's assured of retaining the No. 1 ranking next week.
Davenport was down a service break twice in the second set. She also rallied in the final set, winning the final three games before play was suspended Thursday.
"I had all the momentum last night when the rain came," she said. "I thought it could work against me."
Instead, Davenport closed the victory -- her seventh in a row against Mauresmo. The Frenchwoman lost her fourth Grand Slam semifinal in a row, including three at Wimbledon, and has yet to win a major title.
"Did I cry? Not yet," Mauresmo said with a smile. "I didn't really sleep last night. It's a difficult situation, but it's obviously the same for both of us. ...
"I played good, but not good enough to beat Lindsay, so I'm disappointed."
Williams looked like the Venus of old against Sharapova, dominating with her serve and pounding groundstrokes into the corners to overpower an opponent unaccustomed to being on the defensive. Williams was rewarded with her first berth in a major final since sister Serena beat her for the 2003 Wimbledon title.
"I was always saying the last couple of years that I think it's just her confidence, and that one tournament here or there was really going to help her," Davenport said. "She's really a great grass-court player."
Davenport leads the rivalry 14-12 and has won the past four meetings, but Williams has won all three times they've played at Wimbledon.
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