Sibling rivalry on the ultimate stage

N E W   Y O R K, Sept. 8 -- Richard Williams called it the "greatest day of my life."Oracene Williams, the under-the-radar mother of sisters Venus and SerenaWilliams, was a little less over the top.

Leaning against a wall under Arthur Ashe Stadium and wearing an "I LoveN.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. Openfinal after they dispatched Jennifer Capriati and Martina Hingis, respectively, insemifinals matches on Friday. For the parents, it was the fulfillment ofyears 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 togetherFriday night. And while most competitors on the eve of an important contestwithdraw into the privacy of their rooms, the Williams sisters might trysomething completely different.

There is actually a possibility, Oracene said, that they could attend themuch-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 tennisballs 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 theWilliams 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 firstmajor tournament ever, when sisters Lillian and Maud Watson met in the 1884Wimbledon 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 wonthe 1999 U.S. Open at the age of 17. Venus won the U.S. Open last year andhas collected three of the past five Grand Slam singles titles.