Diego Forlán's Debut in Professional Tennis Begins with Doubles Loss at Uruguay Open

Uruguay's Diego Forlan looks at the ball during a men's doubles tennis match at the 2024 Uruguay Open in Montevideo, Uruguay, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)
Uruguay's Diego Forlan looks at the ball during a men's doubles tennis match at the 2024 Uruguay Open in Montevideo, Uruguay, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)
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Diego Forlán's Debut in Professional Tennis Begins with Doubles Loss at Uruguay Open

Uruguay's Diego Forlan looks at the ball during a men's doubles tennis match at the 2024 Uruguay Open in Montevideo, Uruguay, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)
Uruguay's Diego Forlan looks at the ball during a men's doubles tennis match at the 2024 Uruguay Open in Montevideo, Uruguay, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)

Former soccer star Diego Forlán's newfound career in professional tennis started with a doubles loss Wednesday at the Uruguay Open.
The 45-year-old Forlán and Federico Coria of Argentina lost 6-1, 6-2 to Boris Arias and Federico Zeballos in the first round of the ATP’s second-tier challenger tour, The Associated Press reported.
Forlán and Coria were granted wild-card entries to play doubles in the tournament.
The Uruguayan striker retired from soccer in 2019 after playing with top clubs such as Manchester United, Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan. Forlán 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.
For the past five years, Forlán has taken part in amateur master’s tennis tournaments, and had some success that earned him the invitation to play in Uruguay’s biggest professional tournament.



PSG Finally Shows it Can Shine in Champions League Without Mbappé

PSG's Goncalo Ramos celebrates after scoring his side's fourth goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City at the Parc des Princes in Paris, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
PSG's Goncalo Ramos celebrates after scoring his side's fourth goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City at the Parc des Princes in Paris, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
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PSG Finally Shows it Can Shine in Champions League Without Mbappé

PSG's Goncalo Ramos celebrates after scoring his side's fourth goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City at the Parc des Princes in Paris, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
PSG's Goncalo Ramos celebrates after scoring his side's fourth goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City at the Parc des Princes in Paris, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

Paris Saint-Germain finally showed it can shine in the Champions League without star Kylian Mbappé, rallying from 2-0 down in the second half to beat Manchester City 4-2 for a crucial victory Wednesday.
The win moved PSG out of the elimination zone in the competition's new-look format and dumped City in it with one game to play.
PSG’s re-designed attack finally clicked with four different scorers rather than relying too heavily on one to make the difference.
PSG winger Bradley Barcola scored one goal and set up another for France teammate Ousmane Dembélé, and midfielder Joao Neves headed in the third before striker Gonçalo Ramos rammed in the fourth in stoppage time, The Associated Press reported.
The French team has struggled for goals in the competition since Mbappé’s offseason departure for Real Madrid, netting just six in six games before City's visit and being blanked in defeats to Arsenal and Bayern Munich.
PSG coach Luis Enrique said before facing City that the solution up front would come from more teamwork rather than hoping another player can emulate Mbappé, who scored 44 goals last season and helped PSG reach the Champions League semifinals.
City manager Pep Guardiola acknowledged his team was outplayed.
“We have to accept it. In transitions we could not cope with them, they were faster,” he said. “I give credit to PSG. When one team is better I have no problem to accept it. All of them they played really good. It’s not a specific (player)."
Mbappé's move to Madrid forced Enrique to improvise with his lineups all season.
This time, 19-year-old winger Désiré Doué played as a makeshift striker even though center forward Ramos was available for this game where both teams were at risk of failing to advance to the knockout stage.
City led 2-0 after 53 minutes but PSG were level by the hour mark after some inspirational play down the left from Barcola. He skipped past Savinho before picking out Dembélé near the penalty spot, and then the 22-year-old Barcola equalized by squeezing a shot in off the left post after Doué’s effort came back off the crossbar.
The diminutive Neves stooped to head in a free kick from the right in the 78th minute.
Dembélé also hit the crossbar with a rasping shot with 20 minutes left and PSG had two other goals ruled out for offside.