Bermuda Open in eight weeks' time.

The Bermuda resident will be partnered by fellow Australian and doubles specialist Paul Kilderry.

Rafter will also play an exhibition match on semi-final Saturday, April 17, against a yet-to-be-named opponent.

But the news that 26-year-old Rafter, one of the superstars of world tennis, will also be playing competitively at Coral Beach, comes as a massive boost to the tournament organisers.

"It's great for us to have the number three player in the world playing during the week as well as on the Saturday,'' said tournament director Alec Anderson.

Talks were going on with several potential exhibition match opponents for Rafter, added Anderson, and the selected player should be named next week.

In terms of world ranking, fame and winnings, the Rafter/Kilderry pairing is somewhat lop-sided.

Rafter is number six in the ATP world doubles rankings and has career winnings of more than $7 million, while 25-year-old Kilderry is ranked 106 and has won $418,603 in his seven years as a pro.

Kilderry has made little impression in singles on the ATP Tour -- he is ranked 1,116 -- but has two doubles titles to his name.

The line-up for the Bermuda Open is still a long way from being finalised.

Rafter, as one of the world's top ten, is disallowed from competing in the singles as it is a Challenger event.

Doubled up: Patrick Rafter will play with Paul Kilderry in the XL Open.