NEW YORK -- Richard Williams called it the "greatest day of my life." Oracene Williams, the under-the-radar mother of sisters Venus and Serena Williams, was a little less over the top.

	Serena Williams celebrates as her sister Venus defeats Jennifer Capriati to join her in the final.

Leaning against a wall under Arthur Ashe Stadium and wearing an "I Love N.Y." T-shirt, Oracene seemed a bit weary.

"I'm relieved," she said. "Relieved that they both made it through."

Venus, 21, meets Serena, 20, in Saturday's prime-time women's U.S. Open final after they dispatched Jennifer Capriati and Martina Hingis, respectively, in semifinals matches on Friday. For the parents, it was the fulfillment of years of effort and sacrifice by all seven family members.

While the parents were still reeling from the emotion of the moment, according to Orcaene the sisters were considering a night out together. Entertaining the idea of an unorthodox training regimen?

Oracene said the girls will probably go out to dinner together Friday night. And while most competitors on the eve of an important contest withdraw into the privacy of their rooms, the Williams sisters might try something completely different.

There is actually a possibility, Oracene said, that they could attend the much-anticipated Michael Jackson concert at Madison Square Garden.

One Thriller, evidently, deserves another.

It's a family album that's been a long time in the making.

Venus talked about the time Richard made the sisters once hit tennis balls for seven hours straight. "We didn't want to be there," Venus said. "But when you're little, those kinds of things happen."

And when you work hard and are blessed with the athletic gifts of the Williams sisters, this kind of historic thing happens:

For only the second time in well over a century of Grand Slam history, two sisters will vie for a singles title. It was 117 years ago, in the first major tournament ever, when sisters Lillian and Maud Watson met in the 1884 Wimbledon final. Maud overcame a slow start and won 6-8, 6-3, 6-3.

Already, the sisters have a history here at the U.S. Open. Serena won the 1999 U.S. Open at the age of 17. Venus won the U.S. Open last year and has collected three of the past five Grand Slam singles titles.

For the record, the sisters have met six previous times, with elder sister Venus winning four times. The last meeting of consequence was last year's Wimbledon, when Venus defeated Serena on the way to the championship.

That match was clouded by whispers that Richard had ordered Serena, who had already won her first major, to let Venus win. After beating Capriati, Venus said it wasn't so.

	Venus Williams hugs her father, Richard Williams, after defeating Jennifer Capriati 6-4, 6-2.

"I think that anyone would have wrote that or said that was very unprofessional," she said. "I take pride in my sport and my performance. I'm just appalled that anyone would hint something like that.

"I'm still trying to take the title home. I know she won't be giving up anything tomorrow. It's been like two years for her since she's won. It's been a year for me since I won here, too."

Serena said she would have no difficulty finding the motivation to beat her big sister.

"I won't have any problem because the winner gets $850,000," she said, laughing. "I won't have any problem going out there and trying to win.

"It will be good for us, our family and everything. I'm sure TV would love it."

Tactically, there won't be any surprises for either sister; they've been hitting with each other, all the way back to Compton, Calif., beginning in 1987. With the power they both possess, don't look for a lot of long points. Aces and unforced errors are likely to be the rule.

"They are going to come out and compete -- just like they always do," Oracene said. "It's the way they've been brought up."

But who will win?

"I think in a way, Venus is the better player, but Serena is maybe stronger," said no less an authority than Hingis. "She can keep the same pace and just a level. But I think always when it comes to crucial times, Venus was better. I mean, she's better in the rankings, so that shows it."

The feeling around the National Tennis Center is that Venus has the upper hand. She has won 15 consecutive matches and is the only person left in the tournament not to drop a single set.

Is Venus mentally tougher than Serena?

"We're just two different players, two different persons [who] react to situations differently," Venus said. "I hope at least tomorrow that I'll be."

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