Patrick Rafter may make more than one appearance in this year's Bermuda XL Open, it has been disclosed.

Australian Rafter, an Island resident who is currently ranked four in the world in singles, had already been pencilled in for an exhibition match against an as yet unnamed opponent.

But now the Queenslander has shown an interest in competing in the doubles competition, won last year by the American pairing of Richie Reneberg and Doug Flach.

Rafter, who is barred from the singles competition of the Challenger event by Association of Tennis Professionals rules because of his high ranking, is also rated number one in doubles with Sweden's Jonas Bjorkman following their win at the Australian Open.

Bjorkman is known to be otherwise engaged at another tournament during the week of the Open, meaning Rafter will have to look for another partner.

In tournaments last year and early this when Bjorkman has been unavailable he has teamed up with Zimbabwe's Byron Black, fellow Australian Sandon Stolle -- with whom he won the Los Angeles Open -- and the relatively unknown Joshua Eagle, an Australian currently ranked 219 in the world.

However, the 25-year-old, ranked six as an individual in the sometimes strange and confusing world of ATP doubles, is unlikely to be short of willing partners at Coral Beach.

An Australian pairing could be on the cards if the name of Scott Draper, currently ranked in the top 50 in the world, is confirmed, along with a former XL competitor Jason Stoltenberg, once a Wimbledon semi-finalist and now in the top 30 on the ATP tour.

Tournament organiser Alec Anderson would not be drawn on who he might play with but he was expecting to make an announcement by the end of the week on Rafter's opponent in the exhibition match scheduled for the semi-finals Saturday of the event.

"We're shooting high,'' he said. "We've been in contact with some of the top names who could fly in just for that match. But it might alternatively be a player from the tournament.'' Anderson has already committed himself to building a stronger field for this year after the ATP acceded to the committee's request to push the tournament back a week.

Last year, there were scheduling difficulties with a number of the top draws unable to fly in until a day after the tournament began because of weekend Davis Cup commitments.

This year the competition will start on April 12, with players completing their Davis Cup duties on April 4.

Pat Rafter: Ineligible for the Bermuda XL Open singles but keen to compete in the doubles event.