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Forlan on beating Van Nistelrooy & ATP debut at 45

Footballers are a competitive bunch. The will to win is rarely ever consigned to the pitch.

So when Manchester United strikers Diego Forlan and Ruud van Nistelrooy faced each other on a tennis court at Nike's HQ in Portland during a 2003 pre-season tour, there was tension.

Sir Alex Ferguson and their United team-mates were watching. Fergie had apparently put money on Forlan winning the pre-training tie-break tussle.

"Everyone wanted to see who was going to win. I had all the pressure," remembers 45-year-old Forlan, who is gearing up for a professional tennis debut in his native Uruguay next month.