LONDON -- Heather Watson ran straight over to hug Henri Kontinen, her mixed doubles partner, after their victory was confirmed on Court One.After the lows of a first-round exit in the singles at Wimbledon, the Britons run to her first Grand Slam final has provided some much-needed cheer.Im pretty happy, to be honest. No, very happy, Watson told the BBC. I dont really know what to say. Im having so much fun on court with Henri.Watson and Kontinen had never played together before this week. But now they are into the mixed doubles final after a 7-6 (1), 6-3 win against Oliver Marach and Jelena Ostapenko.Having received walkovers in their first two matches, they had barely practised together, bar a warm-up, before beating defending champions Leander Paes and Martina Hingis in the quarterfinals,Watson beamed from ear to ear after shaking hands with their semifinal opponents at the net on Saturday. She clasped her arms around Kontinens neck again when they took their seats, and was signing autographs and posing for selfies on her way off court.It was a far cry from the frustrated figure who drew a $12,000 (£9,294) fine -- the second-biggest in Wimbledon history -- for angrily slamming her racket to the turf during her singles defeat to Annika Beck, a sanction she deemed excessive.Watson and Kontinen, who know each other through the Finns British coach, Chris Eaton, wanted to play together at the French Open -- as a joke, according to Watson -- but didnt make the cut due to the Britons ranking. But with Wimbledon having a larger draw, they knew they would get in this time around.God, Im glad we decided to play together, she added, before admitting that being a major finalist was pretty damn cool.It would mean absolutely everything to me to win not just a Grand Slam, but here at Wimbledon, she told a media conference.Watson didnt even know she would be following Andy Murray onto Centre Court on Sunday -- something else she called pretty cool.Mixed is a fun thing, it doesnt come around very often, she said. Its a tough thing to take super seriously. Theres always different pairings. You cant really prepare in that way you can in singles.Theres definitely a lot more smiles and laughing and chatting on the mixed doubles court. I enjoy both, but there hasnt been much pressure on us. We werent expected to get to the final.Maybe I should laugh and smile more in my singles matches, and chat to myself.Watson will be hoping to claim more doubles success for Britain on Sunday, after Gordon Reid and Alfie Hewett became the first Britons to win the mens wheelchair doubles title at Wimbledon.Its been an incredible week, a bit of a fairytale story so far. Hopefully I can finish it off the right way tomorrow, said Reid, who will play in the first wheelchair singles final here on Sunday.Im really pleased for Alfie, I know what its like winning your first Grand Slam. To be able to do it here on home turf, its something Ill never forget for sure. Its going to be the same for Alfie.Reid, the Australian Open wheelchair singles champion, is hoping he and Murray?-- who plays in the mens singles final against Milos Raonic -- can make it a historic double for Scotland.Not bad for a small country like ours, he said. I was on Centre Court when Andy won in 2013, which was an amazing achievement. For me, having the opportunity to win the first time theyve had a wheelchair singles event is massive.We dont speak that much; hes a busy guy, Reid said of Murray. But whenever we bump into each other at the Grand Slams we have a little chat.Tim Henman might have a battle on his hands when it comes to naming the Wimbledon hill, even if Murray said he was happy for his friend to have the privilege.I heard somebody say it was renamed Reids Ridge now. I dont know if thats going to catch on enough, Reid said, smiling. Were trying to gain a lot of new fans and followers of our sport. Seeing everybody on the hill watching on the big screen shows how far our sports come. Its a really good platform to build on.Wheelchair tennis was trending on Twitter -- thats not bad, ?Hewett said.What is the best place to buy Cheap Jerseys . 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In the response filed Wednesday to the complaint by 30-year-old Alexander Bradley, attorneys say the former University of Florida player is invoking his Fifth Amendment right that protects people from incriminating themselves.In July and August, espnWs weekly essay series will focus on body image.Ugh. You dress like a boy, I remember my mom complaining during numerous department store visits. I felt more comfortable in jeans than in itchy tights and a skirt.Growing up, I resigned to filling the role of the bro-chick archetype and never allowed myself to explore my femininity. Now, Im more aware of my gender. Theres nothing like training in Muay Thai -- which involves striking with hands, shins, elbows and knees -- to make you realize you arent one of the guys.As a female, navigating spaces populated and designed mainly for men can be difficult. After all, fighting is heavily associated with masculinity. And long before Muay Thai was the national sport of Thailand, the physical exercise was developed for hand-to-hand combat in actual warfare. Muay Thai requires mental doggedness.We all know there is a certain challenge with being a woman in this world. Not surprising, women remain a minority of combat sport practitioners.In November 2015, I started Muay Thai. I outgrew the cardio-focused, no-contact gyms. I wanted to train to fight at a combat gym that developed professional Muay Thai fighters, as opposed to a fitness center that just offered workout classes.When I joined?New World Combat gym in Fort Worth, Texas, I knew I was entering a predominately masculine space, but what I didnt realize was how, somewhat paradoxically, doing so would ultimately allow me to fully step into my feminine energy.While training at the gym, my daily interactions constantly reminded me of my womanhood. I had to tell my male training partners to strike harder, as it was obvious they reduced their power. They didnt want to hurt me, one man once told me.Well, they did kick harder than I did, but you best believe I was able to take a striike.dddddddddddd I can kick pretty damn high, too. I am motivated to train twice as hard as the guys.As much as I practice Muay Thai, because I love it and not for the approval of others, any athlete can tell you that there exists an underlining desire for the esteem of your coach. I am no different.While I continue to notice an ever-growing respect from my gym mates, I often cant help but feel my coach is more dedicated to the success of my training partners, for the sole reason that they are males.I have cried in my car post-training, wondering what I have to do to gain his respect. Every now and then I am overwhelmed with frustration, feeling like my technique is up to par with my male training partners tactics. Ive felt my coach was holding me back because he didnt believe I could hang with the boys.I wanted to be viewed as a fighter, but like I once held on to the tomboy label, I now welcome the title of female fighter. As one of only three women at the gym, I feel a responsibility to represent what women fighters are capable of doing in the ring.I cater my training to account for the realities of my slender body type. When I was younger, I worked to hide my feminine traits in hopes of receiving some sense of acceptance and validation in male-centric spaces. I now openly embrace my femininity in and outside the ring.Gender is fluid and not a spectrum with tomboys on one end and girly girls on the other. I love shoes, but I also love taking off my shoes and kicking people in the face.Yvonne Cruz is a freelance writer, designer, and blogger based out of Fort Worth. You can follow her Muay Thai journey and work on both Instagram and Twitter follow @TejanaMaluca. ' ' '