Diego Forlan relished his foray into another professional sport after losing a doubles match on home soil in Uruguay.

The former Manchester United forward was given a wild card to play in the Uruguay Open in Montevideo, a tournament on the Challenger Tour, which sits just below the elite ATP Tour.

Forlan and his Argentinian partner Federico Coria, ranked 101, suffered a 6-1, 6-2 defeat to Bolivian duo Boris Arias and Federico Zeballos in front of a large crowd, but the result was immaterial for the 45-year-old, who represented his country at football more than 100 times.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to play with Fede,” he said in quotes on claytenis.com.

“It’s not easy for him to enter these tournaments with an amateur beside him. I hadn’t even imagined, let alone dreamed of this. It’s wonderful to have played against professionals – it takes courage to do it.

“The atmosphere on this court, which I love so much, was incredible; my friends, my family were here. It was very special, and I enjoyed it. I felt like a tennis player for a moment.”