WIMBLEDON, England — Shortly after advancing to the Wimbledon final, Venus Williams heard from kid sister Serena.

‘‘She called me to say, ‘Can I have your autograph?’’’ Venus said with a laugh.

The family needs just one more win for its fifth Wimbledon title. Venus gleefully hopped on her favorite patch of grass after defeating defending champion Maria Sharapova 7-6 (2), 6-1 in the semifinals Thursday.

Looking like the Venus of old, the two-time Wimbledon winner dominated with her serve and pounded groundstrokes into the corners to overpower an opponent unaccustomed to being on the defensive. She was rewarded with her first berth in a major final since Serena beat her for the 2003 Wimbledon title.

‘‘My play has just gotten better with each opponent, and my level has raised with however my opponent was playing,’’ Venus said. ‘‘It’s satisfying, but I’ve always felt that I can play at this level.’’

Williams was forced to wait overnight for the other finalist to be determined. Top-ranked Lindsay Davenport was four points from the final, leading Amelie Mauresmo 6-7 (5), 7-6 (4), 5-3, love-15 when rain forced suspension of their semifinal until Friday.

Even if Williams falls short Saturday in a bid for her fifth Grand Slam title, and her first since 2001, she has rebutted the perception that she’s less interested in tennis than in her interior design business or such hobbies as reading and shopping.

‘‘I put tennis first in my life,’’ she said. ‘‘I wake up in the morning, go to practice, go to the gym, train and give it my best effort.

‘‘The other things that I do are because it makes me happy. I think it complements my tennis and also makes me work harder, because I realize it’s not easy in the real world. But I think my world also is as real as it gets.’’

Her world has been complicated by a series of injuries, including shoulder and stomach ailments that hampered her serve. But in the semifinal, she hit serves at up to 121 mph and overcame six of seven break points against her.

Sharapova, broken just once in the first five rounds, lost her serve four times.

‘‘I don’t have as big a serve as her,’’ Sharapova said. ‘‘She was serving consistently big.’’

The loss snapped a grass-court streak of 22 consecutive victories for second-seeded Sharapova, .

‘‘I’m obviously very sad,’’ she said. ‘‘This tournament means a lot to me, more than any other tournament. I guess there are more years to come.’’

The precocious Russian hasn’t reached a major final since her surprising title run at Wimbledon a year ago. She still has a good chance to overtake Davenport for the No. 1 ranking during the upcoming hard-court season, but remains eager to improve.

‘‘I need to be stronger,’’ she said. ‘‘The stronger I get, the bigger my serve will be, the easier it will be for me to maybe hold serve and get more free points. But at 18, I don’t think it’s possible to have a huge consistent serve. I know with hard work and practice and repetition it will get bigger and stronger and more accurate.’’

At No. 13 last year, Sharapova became the lowest-seeded player to win the women’s championship when she beat Serena Williams in the final. At No. 14, Venus is seeded even lower and, for a change, won’t have to face her sister for the title.

Venus has lost her past five Grand Slam finals, all to Serena. But two-time Wimbledon champion Serena flew home last week after being upset by Jill Craybas in the third round.

Before the semifinals, Serena offered Venus long-distance encouragement.

‘‘Serena sent me an e-mail earlier, telling me what to do and to just stay in there and play my game and I was the best,’’ Venus said, laughing. ‘‘I guess I took that to heart.’’