Sportsman, entrepreneur, adventurer, fighter pilot and great patriot: it’s difficult to sum up the extraordinary life of Roland Garros. Having studied at HEC Paris to satisfy his father’s wishes, he graduated in 1908. This education was to prove to be more useful than he had first expected. After graduating, he created and managed his own automobile dealership. His passion for aviation combined with his great sense of audacity led him to accomplish a number of great feats, including teaching himself to fly planes. On September 23rd 1913, he carried off the first flight across the Mediterranean. His experiences at HEC Paris played an equally important role in making him so famous today. It was there that he met Emile Lesieur, who later became President of Paris rugby club "Stade Français". Charged with building a tennis stadium in Paris following the first victory of the “Musketeers” in the 1927 Davis Cup, Lesieur suggested the new stadium be named after Roland Garros, "in honour of this great hero of aviation", who died in combat in 1918.