Diego Forlanformer footballer for Independiente, Manchester United, Villarreal, Atlético de Madrid, Inter Milan or Peñarol, and the Argentine Federico Coria they lost 6-1 y 6-2 in his doubles debut at the Uruguay Open against the Bolivians Boris Arias y Federico Zeballos.
The duo from Rio de la Plata, which monopolized the applause and chants of the local public that filled the stands of the Carrasco Lawn Tennis in Montevideo to see the two-time winner of the Golden Boot, suffered a tough defeat at the hands of a duo that won comfortably. .
The efforts of the Argentine, ranked 101st in the ATP ranking in singles and 413th in doubles, who excelled with several winning points, and of the Uruguayan who, left-handed with the racket – despite kicking with the right in soccer – was an individual finalist in the MT400 from Asunción, were not enough to overcome the solidity of Arias and Zeballos.
Diego Forlán: “In 2017 and 2018 I didn’t have the tennis I have today”
At the end of the match, Forlán thanked Coria for agreeing to play with him and those who came to watch the match in which, in less than an hour, the victory went to the Bolivian duo, both ranked 109 in doubles.
“I enjoyed it a lot, I knew that the probability was very high that it was going to be a difficult game for us, it was logical, so I prepared myself to at least not have such a bad time and to be able to enjoy it and that’s what I did. So grateful to all the people who came, they filled the stadium,” Diego Frolán said at a press conference after losing to Boris Arias and Federico Zeballos.
Diego Forlán loses in his debut in professional tennis, in the Montevideo doubles
“I hope you enjoyed it a little bit, but hey, I think that with Zeballos and Arias, who are two great doubles players, at least you saw some nice tennis and some plays by Fede, some of mine, a few that there were, at least there was a nice entertainment,” added the former Uruguayan soccer player.
On the challenge of facing a tennis match, a sport that he practiced from his childhood to his adolescence, before dedicating himself to soccer – which his father, his grandfather and his brother also played -, the two-time Golden Boot winner He said “it’s not easy at all.”
“I had to come to play an exhibition in 2017 and 2018. Obviously I did not have the tennis that I have today and the experience on a field, even though I was used to playing soccer with more than 60,000 people, but it is a sport that you master (…), when you have one that is new there are more doubts,” he said.
