The Frenchwoman, who had lost at this stage three times before, made it to the final Saturday at the All England club with a dramatic 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 win over Sharapova to progress to a final clash with Justine Henin-Hardenne.
In both 2004, against Serena Williams, and 2005, against Lindsay Davenport, Mauresmo had lost after being a set and a break up.
That nightmare scenario looked like it might repeat itself when Sharapova, whose battling performance tested her opponent's suspect temperament to the limit, won five games in a row to claim the second set from 1-3 down.
The Russian could not sustain her momentum however as Mauresmo held her nerve to set up a repeat of this year's Australian Open final, which she won after Henin-Hardenne was forced to retire with a stomach upset in the second set.
Mauresmo admitted she had been breathed a huge sigh of relief after surviving a two hour 13 minute battle on Centre Court that was of a far higher quality than Henin-Hardenne's nervy win over fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters.
Mauresmo claimed the first set after securing the first break of the match in the eighth game for a 5-3 lead.
Having played near flawless tennis up to that point, there was a hint of nerves from the world number one as she fluffed her first two set points and she would have been relieved to see Sharapova send an easy volley beyond the baseline.
That blip appeared to have been forgotten as Mauresmo raced into a 3-1 lead in the second set and Sharapova found herself 0-40 down on her own serve.
Yet somehow, from the brink of what would surely have been an irretrievable position, the Russian found the impetus to reel off five games in a row to send the match into a third set.
Perhaps conscious that the momentum was with her opponent, Mauresmo disappeared for a long toilet break before the start of the decisive set.
Whether or not it was a calculated move rather than a call of nature, it certainly did the trick.
When she came back, the Frenchwoman appeared to have rediscovered the composure that had deserted her. After comfortably holding her serve, she edged a long second game that left Sharapova looking visibly deflated.
An uncharacteristic double fault from the Russian handed Mauresmo a second break and a 4-0 lead, but her afternoon's work was still far from finished.
Sharapova won the next two games and got to break point in the next one, only for Mauresmo to come up with an ace just when she needed it most.
Henin-Hardenne, runner-up to Venus Williams in 2001, beat Clijsters 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) to earn the chance to win the only Grand Slam to have eluded her.
It was a case of missed opportunities for Clijsters, who squandered a 4-3, 40-0 lead in the first set and then failed to serve out the second set at 6-5.
Baghdatis dumps Hewitt
Earlier on Wednesday Cyprus's Marcos Baghdatis sent former champion Lleyton Hewitt crashing out with a 6-1, 5-7, 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 quarter-final win. The victory proved that his run to the Australian Open final in January was no fluke.
Hewitt, the sixth seed and 2002 champion, was subdued throughout the two and a half hour Centre Court clash and his service was broken in the opening game in each of the first three sets.
Hewitt was seen as a potential title threat to Roger Federer here after warming up for Wimbledon with a fourth Queen's Club crown but he was always struggling on Wednesday.
Baghdatis raced into a 5-0 lead in the first set before Hewitt, the sixth seed, managed to get on the board but the opener was wrapped up in just 26 minutes.
The Australian battled back from a 3-0 deficit in the second set to eventually level the tie at one set each.
But Baghdatis reasserted his authority by clinching the third set tie-break and grabbed the vital break of serve in the fourth game of the fourth set before taking the match when Hewitt netted a forehand.
Wednesday results:
Men's singles (quarter-finals): Jonas Bjorkman (SWE) bt Radek Stepanek (CZE ) 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (9/7), 6-4; Marcos Baghdatis (CYP) bt Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) 6-1, 5-7, 7-6 (7/5), 6-2
Thursday results
Women's singles (semi-finals): Justine Henin-Hardenne (BEL) bt Kim Clijsters (BEL) 6-4, 7-6 (7/4); Amelie Mauresmo (FRA) bt Maria Sharapova (RUS) 6-3, 3-6, 6-2
Men's singles (quarterfinals): Rafael Nadal (ESP) bt Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.—Agencies