Some of the tennis stars who will battle it out in the Bermuda Open next week were on Davis Cup duty for their countries at the weekend -- with mixed fortunes.

Pat Rafter, who will play in the doubles with Paul Kilderry at Coral Beach and in an exhibition singles match, won both his singles rubbers playing for Australia against Zimbabwe.

Island resident Rafter, the world number five, beat Wayne Black in four sets and his brother Byron Black in three, to help the Aussies to a 4-1 win in Harare.

Equally successful was Nicolas Lapentti, of Ecuador, who won his singles rubber against Mariano Zabaleta in his country's 2-1 triumph over Argentina.

Lapentti, who reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open in January, will start among the favourites to win the Open.

Teaming up with Andres Gomez in the doubles, Lapentti enjoyed another victory, in straight sets against Daniel Orsanic and Lucas Arnold.

Arnold is also in the Bermuda field and will be looking to go one better than last year, when he lost in the final to compatriot Hernan Gumy.

Lapentti's Davis Cup team-mate Luis Adrian Morejon, who lost his rubber in three sets against Mariano Puerta, will also play next week.

A week on the green clay courts of Paget may be just what Alex O'Brien needs to wind down to normality after he was involved in an epic Davis Cup tie, playing for the US against Britain in Birmingham.

Doubles specialist O'Brien paired up with Todd Martin, but they went down in a five-set thriller to Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski.

The World Group first round tie went to the final set of the final rubber, which Jim Courier won 8-6 against Rusedski to give the US a 3-2 victory.

There are two Belgians in next week's field, former Fench Open quarter-finalist Filip Dewulf and 1997 Bermuda winner Johan Van Herck.

Both played in their country's 3-2 win against the Czech Republic, but without personal success. The pair teamed up in the doubles, but lost in straight sets to David Rikl and Yiri Novak, and Dewulf lost his singles rubber, also in straight sets, to Slava Dosedel.