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"&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; Patrick Rafter won the Australian Open doubles title in 1999 with Jonas Bjorkman. (Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;MELBOURNE, Australia -- When the men's doubles draw was released on Sunday afternoon one name jumped out: Patrick Rafter. The 41-year old Australian Davis Cup captain has signed up to play doubles with Lleyton Hewitt and the pair could face the top seeds, Bob and Mike Bryan, in the third round. Speaking to reporters, the always self-deprecating champion likened the pairing to \"chocolate and broccoli.\"&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\"I'll be definitely\u00A0the worst player in the competition out there,\" Rafter said. \"But I'll have fun. I'm playing with one of\u00A0the best players in the competition. Figure it's like eating chocolate or having broccoli, sort of\u00A0equal it out.\"&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\"I\u00A0think he still thinks he's got it in him,\" Hewitt joked earlier in the day before crashing Rafter's press conference. \"Hope I\u00A0don't have to carry him too much.\"&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The ITF requires players who come out of retirement to give the anti-doping authorities at least three months notice before competing, but that rule came into effect in 2009, after Rafter stopped playing.\u00A0A two-time U.S. Open champion and former No. 1, he hasn't played the Australian Open since 2001 and is listed as \"Inactive\" on the ATP website, but apparently he never officially retired, opening the door for the partnership. In any event, the ITF has cleared him to play.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\"It's just a bit of fun,\" Hewitt said. The idea to pair up was his and he's been chasing Rafter for a while. \"It\u00A0will be nice on my off days, hopefully I'm still in\u00A0the singles, on my off days to go out and play\u00A0dubs with Pat.\u00A0He's hitting the ball well enough. Beat\u00A0Ivanisevic and Henman and those guys over in\u00A0the seniors tour. Just going to be a bit of fun for\u00A0both of us.\"&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Rafter jokingly hopes Hewitt does so well in singles that he pulls out of doubles and lets Rafter off the hook.\u00A0\"We're in the\u00A0draw, but it will all depend on how he goes,\" Rafter said. \"It's\u00A0really important for him to play great singles.\u00A0That's what it's all about. He still likes playing\u00A0competitive matches. He gets through the first\u00A0singles, he feels comfortable, feeling he might\u00A0want to play, it's whatever Lleyton wants.\"&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Whatever happens, don't expect Rafter to take the doubles court in any upcoming Davis Cup ties. \"There would\u00A0have to be food poisoning, sicknesses,\" he said. \"That\u00A0would be my worst nightmare.\"&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Here's some of the reaction on Twitter to the news of Rafter's comeback. Needless to say, he is much beloved.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;@AustralianOpen PLEASE can I get tickets for #Rafter #Hewitt doubles??? #legendary&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2014 Sergiy Stakhovsky (@Stako_tennis) January 12, 2014&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Patrick Rafter is my idol's idol! He is that cool. #AusOpen&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2014 Amer Delic (@AmerDelic) January 12, 2014&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Pat Rafter announces comeback. Instantly becomes Australia's most popular active tennis player since Pat Rafter.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2014 Michael Auciello (@MichaelAuciello) January 12, 2014&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Can't wait for the mixed draw to come out. Goolagong/Matosevic FTW.\n\u2014 Josh Meiseles (@jmeistennis) January 12, 2014&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.si.com/tennis/beyond-baseline/2014/01/12/patrick-rafter-lleyton-hewitt-doubles-australian-open>