Matt Turner    |    Messenger

RUBBING shoulders with tennis stars Pat Rafter, Lleyton Hewitt and Bernard Tomic has steeled Somerton Tennis Club’s Thanasi Kokkinakis for a second crack at representing his country.

Thanasi, of Seacombe Heights, was last week selected in Australia’s Junior Davis Cup squad for the Asia Oceania qualifying tie in Bendigo, starting April 24. The 16-year-old’s call-up comes about 12 months after he played against three countries during the 2011 Junior Davis Cup qualifiers in India and just days after he was the “orange boy” for Australia’s senior Davis Cup tie against South Korea in Brisbane.

As part of that role, filled by promising juniors, Thanasi hit balls with former No. 1 Hewitt, received advice from team captain Rafter and ate dinners with the squad.

“I was the guy that helped out the team, hit with whatever players needed a hit, handed out drinks and went to team dinners,” says Thanasi, ranked among Australia’s top two juniors.

“I was a little bit (nervous) at the start but ended up feeling pretty comfortable around them,” he said.

“I learnt how hard they train and (about) the professionalism. It will serve me well for my (Junior Davis Cup) matches.”

Thanasi missed out on playing in the world finals of the Junior Davis Cup in Mexico last September after sustaining stress fractures in his back.

The injury, suffered last May, sidelined him for several months and he only returned to the tournament circuit in January.

Thanasi played twice at Melbourne Park in the Australian Open juniors and for Somerton in the National Tennis League finals then in a Queensland tournament before his orange boy selection.

Thanasi is determined to help Australia reach the 2012 Junior Davis Cup finals in Barcelona in September and this time get on court.

“I was definitely looking forward to going (last year),” he says.

“It’d definitely be a good experience to go this year but we first have to make sure we qualify.”

On a personal front, Thanasi hopes to improve his ATP senior men’s ranking from 1273 to inside the top 700 by the end of the year.