Diego Forlan's route from football to tennis

FOOTBALLERS are a competitive bunch. The will to win is rarely ever consigned to the pitch.

So when Manchester United strikers Diego Forlan and Ruud van Nistelrooy faced each other on a tennis court at Nike's HQ in Portland during a 2003 pre-season tour, there was tension.

Sir Alex Ferguson and their United team-mates were watching. Fergie had apparently put money on Forlan winning the pre-training tie-break tussle.

"Everyone wanted to see who was going to win. I had all the pressure," remembers 45-year-old Forlan, who is gearing up for a professional tennis debut in his native Uruguay next month.

"Ruud played a lot - not as much as I played, but still he knew how to play."

After a few serving jitters, Forlan beat Van Nistelrooy "in the end".

What the now-interim United manager did not know - the wily Ferguson had typically not missed a beat - was Forlan had quite the pedigree.

After retiring in 2019, external, Forlan had more time for tennis. Focusing on the fitness and social benefits, he played with friends in the Montevideo club league.

His competitive spirit was sparked and, in 2023, the left-hander made his ITF Masters Tour debut. Now he is ranked 113th in the world in the over-45s category.

A greater reward came when he was given a wildcard into the Uruguay Open doubles on the ATP Challenger Tour - the tier below where Novak Djokovic et al compete.

"If you asked me when I was playing football if I was going to play on the ATP Tour, I would not have imagined it," said Forlan, who counts Boris Becker, Ivan Lendl and Goran Ivanisevic among his idols.

"I didn't know if I was going to play tennis even though it was a sport I really liked."

'Maradona was not the reason why I chose football'

Forlan's professional debut promises to be a sentimental affair, taking place at his boyhood club in the Uruguayan capital where he spent hours in his youth.

Boasting red-clay courts and grass football pitches, the Carrasco Lawn Tennis Club allowed young Diego to indulge in both loves.

Football took precedence in his teenage years, with a path into professionalism opening up at Independiente.

Uruguayan media once claimed Forlan chose football because it provided greater financial support for his older sister Alejandra. A car crash in 1991, which killed her boyfriend, left her paralysed.

Another theory was an appearance from Maradona in a fundraising game for Alejandra persuaded Forlan to pursue football.

Forlan smiles about the encounter with the Argentina legend, who also played tennis with the family in Carrasco. He still cherishes a photograph of Maradona's visit.

But the truth is more simple. Training sessions for the two sports clashed. So Forlan followed his father Pablo and grandfather Juan Carlos Corazzo - both Uruguay internationals - into football.

It is hard to argue he did not make the right move.

Forlan won club trophies at Manchester United, Villarreal, Atletico Madrid, Internacional and Penarol during his 21-year career.

Perhaps the biggest accolade came when he was named the best player of the 2010 World Cup, where Uruguay finished fourth.

Forlan does not anticipate any, never mind similar, success on the ATP Tour.

In Carrasco, he will be guided by experienced Argentine Federico Coria - ranked 49th in singles last year - but Forlan admits he is "not at the level" of the seasoned pros.

It will not be down to a lack of preparation.

Father-of-four Forlan trains three times a week with former Uruguay Davis Cup captain Enrique Perez, while also finding time for gym sessions, rounds of golf and football kickabouts.

Perez says it is "not easy to teach" Forlan's desire, drive and dedication.

"It is a gift for Diego to be able to play with pro guys. But it will be tough," Perez told BBC Sport.

"If they play two guys who need the points and the money, they will focus on Diego for the whole match.

"He's just going there to have fun." —BBC