MELBOURNE, Australia — Former Baylor tennis standout Benjamin Becker will face former world No. 1 Marat Safin of Russia next week in the first round of the Australian Open. Safin, 26, won the Open in 2005 and reached the final in both 2002 and 2004, and is 26-6 in seven previous appearances in Melbourne. He is ranked 26th in the world. Becker, 25, will be playing in his first Australian Open after making his Grand Slam debut last year at Wimbledon with a first-round win over No. 42 Juan Ignacio Chela. He also ended the career of Andre Agassi in the third round of the U.S. Open before losing to eventual finalist Andy Roddick. He is currently ranked a career-best 58th in the world. [Tribune-Herald staff report]