SecondBefore the start of the Uruguay Open, the organizer of the ATP Second Tier Challenge issued an announcement. The date was finally confirmed after their social media pages were flooded with mentions of just one participant this week Tickets and tickets for this unmissable match are on sale: “Get ready for an epic night that will live in the memory of the Uruguay Open,” they wrote.
It’s extremely rare for any first-round event on an obscure Challenger or Future Tour event to attract enough attention to warrant event organizers planning an exact date and time in advance. In a doubleheader, this would usually result in an ejection to the outfield in front of no one, which is almost unheard of. But this is not a normal occasion. After weeks of publicity, interviews and hype, former Manchester United, Villarreal, Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan footballer Diego Forlan will take on Argentinian player Fernando Fernando in Montevideo at 10am local time on Wednesday. Deryko Coria makes his professional tennis debut.
Forlan’s tennis debut is the next step in a journey that began as a child. He has played tennis and football since he was a child, training at the Carrasco Lawn Tennis Club, the venue for the Uruguay Open. When the time came to commit to a sport, Fran chose football, following the path set for him by his father Pablo and maternal grandfather Juan Carlos Corazzo, both of whom had represented Uruguay participates in international competitions.
After retiring, Forlan returned to tennis and now trains four to five times a week under the tutelage of former Uruguay Davis Cup captain Enrique Pérez Casalino. Although the 45-year-old is right-footed on the pitch, he is left-handed on the pitch. Last year, he started playing in the ITF Masters, competing in five tournaments. He had some success, particularly in the over-45 category, where he reached the finals in August and rose to 101st in the age group rankings.
This one-time appearance in the professional arena is the result of Uruguayan tennis player Ignacio Carew’s persistence. After repeatedly urging Forlan to play in lower-level future tours, Carew decided to link Forlan and Corea together. “[Now] We’re here to see what happens,” Fran said with a smile.
The gap between the ATP Challengers Tour, where many players are close to breaking through every week, competing at the highest level, and the Amateur 45+ Masters Tour is huge. While it may be a spectacle to watch football’s greats play, it will be extremely difficult for Forlan to hold his ground on the pitch.
“I’m far away from those people,” he said. “For me, it’s all positive. Playing with professionals, just for one game, you never know, but I know it’s going to be difficult. I’m going to enjoy it.
“There will be a lot of people at my club and the weather is great. To have the opportunity to be a professional football player and a professional tennis player, I don’t know if I’m the first, just for a match, it’s an honor.
The event also reflects one of the unique aspects of the sport: openness, as the name of many championships does, really means openness. If granted a wild card or the threshold for entry is low enough, anyone can compete professionally as long as they fill out the necessary forms and enter the anti-doping pool.
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After all, this is Gail Falkenberg’s sport, and the 77-year-old was a regular in singles competition on the ITF World Tennis Tour last year, winning a match and facing one in the pros Naomi Osaka and Taylor Townsend. In lower level sports, sometimes even junior or mid-level players invest a lot of time and resources to lose 6-0, 6-0 all over the world.
Forlan may not fall into that category, but his cameo on tour is going to be tough. He will face fourth-seeded Federico Zeballos and Boris Arias, both doubles specialists ranked 109th. The contrast is stark with the opponent’s humble experience as a professional athlete. The Bolivian pair will earn $35,919 (£28,082) each by 2024 after 11 months of racking up expenses from traveling around the world and competing. This is serious for them. They are fighting an uphill battle for their survival, and they should ruthlessly target Fran, the weak link, in order to move forward.
Paolo Maldini participated in the Milan ATP Challenger Tour in 2017 at the age of 49 with his 46-year-old coach Stefano Landonio and won 6-1, 6- 1 defeat, propelling the football legend to the pinnacle of professional tennis. Coria is the younger brother of former No. 3 Guillermo Coria. He is 32 years old, ranked 101st in singles and the third seed in the singles draw.
Corea publishes a popular vlog documenting his life on tour. Ranked 413th in doubles, this year’s doubles record is 2 wins and 9 losses. This game will not have an impact on his career, but the YouTube content will be exciting.
