The center court of the Carrasco Lawn Tennis Club was filled for a match in the first round of the doubles draw of the Challenger de Montevideo. It wasn’t just another ordinary match, but rather the one that marked the debut as a professional tennis player of Diego Forlán, a glory of Uruguayan football and a local idol who dared to try the racket. It was short, it’s true, because It lasted just 47 minutes. together with the Argentine Federico Coriasince they could not against the Bolivians Boris Arias y Federico Zeballosfinalists of the last edition of this brick dust contest.
He entered the field in the middle of a play of lights and with a light blue shirt, similar to the one he wore when he won the Ballon d’Or at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, and at that moment the applause exploded. Even Federico Coria, his partner who will debut in singles against qualy Lautaro Midón stopped to applaud the former footballer. Then, the game began.
Although he had difficulties in returning against the serve of his rivals, the Bolivians Arias and Zeballos -109th in the specialty ranking-, ‘Cachavacha’ was firm in the game on the net and showed virtues with his shot of drive. Logically, in his first match against players with experience on the Challenger circuit, it was difficult for him to get into the rhythm. Furthermore, he was never able to sustain his serve, he was seen to lack power and this was justified a resounding defeat by 6-1 and 6-2 in 47 minutes of play.
In any case, the 45-year-old left-hander, the one who wore the shirt of important clubs such as Independiente, Atlético Madrid and Manchester United and who was champion of the 2011 Copa América with the Uruguayan national team, was able to compete and excelled with the occasional shot. winner that made the audience rise from their seats. And they also gave him more than one ovation. “Olé, olé, olé, olé… Dieeeeeego, Dieeeeeego”was heard.
How did Forlán enter the draw of an official Challenger Tour tournament? received a wild card, special invitation from the organization, because Diego Pérez, director of the event, often saw him play at the club and noticed his high level. Although the idea of professionalism had been planted in Cachavacha’s head for months. “This started a year ago with (Ignacio) Nacho Carou,” Forlán said in an interview with Clarín, pointing to his compatriot, 329th in the ATP doubles ranking, as the first to “tempt” him.
“I know Nacho from watching him play in the Davis Cup and from running into him at the club. What’s more, we have trained several times together. In February of this year he told me about playing a Future (lowest step of professional tennis) in Punta del This one. I was on vacation and I didn’t dare. Then he invited me to another tournament and I said no. Until one day he sent me Fede Coria’s photo and told me that Fede wanted to play the Challenger in Montevideo with me. ‘In Seriously???’ He answered yes, but it stopped there,” he said.
“But a month ago I ran into Diego Pérez and he also told me that Fede wanted to play the tournament with me and asked me if I was up for it. I answered that if they invited me, I would be the happiest,” he continued.
A story linked to sport
Forlán has football in his blood. His maternal grandfather Juan Carlos Corazo was a player and then a coach (he led the Uruguayan team in the 1962 World Cup in Chile). His father Pablo played three World Cups with “la celeste”. And his uncle Richard and brother Pablo also had professional careers in the sport. As a child, Diego played tennis, which his father had started practicing after retiring. But he was also skilled with the ball at his feet. And when he had to choose which path to follow, he chose to extend the family tradition.
“In the Forlán house, football is above everything,” he said with a laugh. “Just to tell you that we are the only family in the world of three generations with four Copa América. My mother’s father played for Independiente, where I also played years later, and became champion of America twice as coach of the national team. My father He also won that tournament as a player. And I did it in 2011. My older brother played soccer and was Uruguayan champion, like my dad and I. Soccer, soccer, soccer…”.
With the Uruguayan shirt, Forlán played in three World Cups, Korea-Japan 2002, South Africa 2010 – in which he was the top scorer – and Brazil 2014; and was on the podium twice in the Copa América (third in 2004 and champion in 2011). He began his professional career at Independiente de Avellaneda in 1997 and then went through Manchester United, Villarreal, Atlético Madrid, Inter Milan, Internacional de Porto Alegre, Cerezo Osaka (Japan), Peñarol, Mumbai City (India) and Kitchee (Hong Kong). , his last club. But while he made his mark in the world of football, he never forgot tennis.
“I watched and always watch tennis,” said someone who as a child admired Boris Becker, Ivan Lendl, Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras. “Being in Europe I had the opportunity to go to several tournaments and play with several professionals such as Marat Safin, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Nicolás Lapentti. All thanks to Enrique Bebe Pérez, who was coach of Lapentti, Corretja, Calatrava, Clavet and several more “And I met Ferrero through Andrés Bruno, another friend/coach.”