Stakes in the former footballer’s professional debut are not particularly high but the YouTube vlog will be spectacular

Before the start of the Uruguay Open, the organisers of the second-string ATP Challenger tournament had an announcement. After flooding their social media pages with references to just one participant during the week, finally, a date was confirmed for the unmissable match and tickets were on sale: “Get ready for an epic night that will remain in the memory of the Uruguay Open,” they wrote.

It is incredibly rare for any first round match on the humble challenger or future tours to generate enough attention to warrant the tournament organisers planning its exact date and time in advance. In doubles, which is usually banished to the outer courts in front of nobody at all, it is almost unheard of. But this is no normal occasion. On Wednesday at 10am local time, after weeks of publicity, interviews and hype, Diego Forlán, the former footballer for Manchester United, Villarreal, Atlético Madrid and Inter, will make his professional tennis debut alongside Federico Coria of Argentina in Montevideo.