21 JANUARY, 2025
Double the fun at school Stacey and Adam Tait welcomed a set of fraternal twins during the pandemic and now, five years later, the twins are gearing up for their first day of primary school. The Tait twins, Florence and Henley, are excited to start school at Eynesbury Primary School. Ms Tait said she is both nervous and excited. “I have the confidence, in a way, that they have each other,” she said. “I just hope that they can lean on each other if they need each other.” She said seeing them in their school uniforms was surreal. “Florence is excited that she can wear her little skort, and her school dress, and Henley’s just excited to look like his older brother, Lincoln,” she said. Ms Tait said it will be very different not having them around almost all of the time. “I’m excited to see their personalities come out,“ she said. “I just hope they keep that connection that they’ve always had of being best friends.” Faith Macale
Twins Florence and Henley, 5, are ready for their first day of school at Eynesbury Primary School (Ljubica Vrankovic) 453716_03
Micic’s Aussie Open run By Tara Murray Caroline Springs’ Elena Micic grew up wanting to spend her Januarys on the courts at Melbourne Park. Having started playing tennis at age three, making the Australian Open draw has long been a dream for the now 20-year-old. She made the 2022 Australian Open junior event after winning through in qualifying, with a senior draw the next aim. That dream was almost a reality for this year’s Open, falling one win short of the
main draw after making it through to the final round of qualifying. “It was a great experience,” she said. “I was super grateful for the opportunity to play and compete. “With my first two matches and even my last match, I was happy with how I played. “I couldn’t have asked for a better first slam experience.” Micic, who started the year ranked just outside the world 400, received a wildcard into the qualifying tournament following her improvements last year. She beat Elena Pridankina in the first
round of qualifying 6-3 3-6 7-5, before leading Darya Astakhova 6-2 3-1 when her opponent retired. Number six seed Polina Kudermetova ended her run with a 6-4 7-5 win in the final round of qualifying. Micic said for her she didn’t focus on where her opponents were ranked once she was on the court, it was about making sure she concentrated on the game. Being her home grand slam, Micic’s friends and family were out in force to support her in action. “I was excited to play in front of them,” she said. “I grew up training on these courts.
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“I played relatively well and felt like I was at home and felt confident.” Micic, who is going into her third full year on the senior circuit, said she gained more confidence and belief with the matches that she’s played. After finishing 2023 ranked at 879 in the world, Micic finished last year at 403. She currently sits at 425. Micic said she wanted to continue to build and improve her ranking. She said seeing her ranking improve so much last year really gave her a lot of confidence. Continued page 4
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