NEW YORK -- Richard Williams is often too nervous to sit still when one of his daughters is playing, but with both of them playing for the U.S. Open title he cannot even bear to watch.

Williams, the father and coach of U.S. Open finalists Venus and Serena Williams, said he had decided to return home to Florida rather than be torn during their championship final on Saturday night.

"I told them to be happy that they're here and stay relaxed," Williams said about the pep talk he gave his daughters before leaving the National Tennis Center on Saturday.

"We've got the 1999 champion playing the 2000 champion in 2001. That's pretty awesome, isn't it."

Serena Williams, 19, became the first of the sisters to win a major title when she won the Open crown in 1999.

Spurred on by Serena's triumph, 21-year-old Venus Williams won Wimbledon and the U.S. Open last year and repeated this summer at the All-England Club.

The championship match marks the first time sisters have played for a Grand Slam title since the first Wimbledon women's singles final 117 years ago.

"And whatever happens we'll have the trophy in the Williams family home cause I'm going to take it," father Richard said with an impish grin.