Diego Forlan Raring To Go As Ex-United, Atletico Madrid Striker Prepares For Tennis Debut – News18
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For the past five years, Forlan has taken part in amateur masters tournaments, and had some success that earned him the invitation to play in Uruguay’s biggest professional tournament.
Diego Forlan in tennis action (AP)
Diego Forlán was one of the best forwards of his generation and could be satisfied at the end of a trophy-laden football career.
When he retired from football in 2019, he’d represented Manchester United, Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan; was the 2010 World Cup’s best player and joint highest scorer; and netted twice in the 2011 Copa America final to help Uruguay win its first continental trophy in 16 years.
But the former striker always had an itch he wanted to scratch but couldn’t while he was crisscrossing the globe for football.
So at age 45 he’s coming back to professional sports — on the tennis court.
This week, Forlán will turn his tennis hobby into a professional debut by playing doubles in the Uruguay Open on the ATP’s second-tier challenger tour. Thanks to a wild card, he will team with experienced Argentine player Federico Coria in Montevideo.
Forlán has followed the footsteps of his father, former footballer and amateur tennis player Pablo Forlán, and renewed a passion that remained on hold for decades. For the past five years, he has taken part in amateur masters tournaments, and had some success that earned him the invitation to play in Uruguay’s biggest professional tournament.
“I am a former football player trying to play tennis,” Forlán tells The Associated Press after training at the Carrasco Lawn Tennis Club in the Uruguayan capital. “I enjoy it very much.
“I love having the opportunity to come and play tennis at this lovely club, where I grew up, where I was all my childhood. The truth is that it is a privilege.
“I want to have fun, come here, enter this court and see many people, friends, family, acquaintances. I will get in and enjoy myself.”
The Uruguay Open challenger began on Monday. South America’s main tennis tournaments take place at the start of the year but the Uruguay Open offers about $132,000 in prize money and points for the ATP rankings.
Football and tennis were part of Forlán’s childhood. Eventually, he would choose the one sport in which his grandfather, father and brother, all renowned footballers, had a legacy.
“At one point he had both careers somewhat on par, until he was 14, 15 years old,” says his coach, Uruguay Davis Cup captain Enrique Pérez Cassarino.
Forlán made it clear his expectations are low, but he has had some good moments in his five previous tournaments. Since his debut on the masters circuit in July 2023, he’s reached a final in Asuncion, Paraguay, and won a doubles in Lima, Peru.
They don’t compare to his Premier League, FA Cup and Europa League success but he’s still very proud.
Forlán trains at least four days a week and has worked hard to deepen his technical skills, Cassarino says.
“Diego is very solid at the back of the court, he has a lot of physicality,” Cassarino adds. “We have been polishing match situations such as closing plays or how to be more aggressive.”
Forlan burnished the legacy of Uruguay’s No. 10 shirt. By coincidence, his first professional tennis match at the Uruguay Open is on court No. 10.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – Associated Press)
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