NEW YORK -- Kicked out of Arthur Ashe Stadium Thursday night , Benjamin Becker had no choice but to head to his hotel. He had wanted to get a peek as Andre Agassi fought to prolong his tennis career against Marcos Baghdatis . No seats were available, and the US Open qualifier wasn't even allowed to stand in the alleys with a view of the court, even though the unknown German was in line to play the winner.

That was Agassi.

And so Becker -- who's not related to Boris Becker -- gets the legend on center court at Ashe today, if the weather cooperates.

Not bad for a kid who was ranked around 1,400th in the world and lost in a qualifier of a Futures tournament (tennis's Double A) just one year ago.

``The most difficult [part of the match] is he's going to have to erase in his mind that he's playing Andre,' said Becker's coach, Tarik Benhabiles, the former coach of Andy Roddick. ``Just go out there and play.

``I want him to go out there and try his best and have a great attitude. I don't want him to go out there as a spectator against Andre.'

He has to forget his ranking (112th) and Agassi's legend, and focus just on the tennis, no matter how many times he pretended to be Agassi as a kid growing up in Germany. And he has to forget the crowd, the 23,000 or so fans who will be cheering for Agassi and against him, even though the most hostile crowd he has faced was about 200 rowdy Texas Tech fans when he played for Baylor. But, Benhabiles mused, it won't be the same if Agassi isn't physically healthy for their match.

Agassi had trouble walking after his win over Baghdatis , moved around in a chair to get comfortable during his press conference, and had to lie down on his way out of the tennis center at one point. He was given an injection of anti-inflammatory medication yesterday, his trainer told the Associated Press. Three days earlier, Agassi received a cortisone shot for back pain .

Even so, the chance to play Agassi on Ashe in what might be the last match of his career is ``a dream come true,' Becker said. `` I was kind of hoping he would win because it's the last time you get a chance to play him.

``I grew up watching him play. He was an idol for me.'"