Rafter enters Australian Open

Rafter has been enjoying life away from the tour

Pat Rafter will take part in the Australian Open doubles in Melbourne next month.

The 30-year-old accepted a wildcard to play in the year's first Grand Slam.

Rafter and partner Josh Eagle will warm up for the event with the Australian Hardcourt Championship in Adelaide which starts on 5 January.

"He had nothing on at the moment and he felt like it would be something fun to do," said Eagle, who insisted Rafter was not making a singles comeback.

"Definitely not," he said. "This is purely something we're viewing as a bit of fun.

"If we happen to win a match or two, so be it. That'd be a bonus."

The fans will get a kick out of it Australian Open director Paul McNamee

Rafter, the two-time US Open champion, stepped down from the men's circuit last January after taking a year out from the game.

And Eagle added: "He knew that it would probably be my last Australian Open and last Australian summer circuit, so he thought we may as well go out in style."

Rafter will play fellow former world number one Mats Wilander in an exhibition match in Townsville in north Queensland on 2 February - the day after the Australian Open ends.

Paul McNamee, the Australian Open tournament director, said Rafter's appearance at Melbourne Park would be a popular one.

"He'll be a really good addition to the tournament and for the fans in particular. The fans will get a kick out of it," McNamee said.

"It'll be interesting to see how he goes. He and Josh will have had a game in Adelaide and that will have them in good stead for Melbourne."

Rafter was beaten twice in the final at Wimbledon, famously losing an epic battle with Croatia's Goran Ivanisevic in 2001.

It was shortly after that defeat that he decided to quit the tour - his last official match was in Australia's Davis Cup defeat to France in December of the same year.