For the those who don’t know, 2015 edition of Roland Garros was in fact the richer editon of the famous tennis tournaments taking place in Paris: € 28,028,600 was the amount of the total prize, increased by + 12% compared to the previous edition. Of this amount, 1,800,000 have been entitled to women’s singles and men’s singles winners; while the pair winning the mixed doubles has been awarded € 114,000. And so, in the prestigious field, named after Suzanne Lenglen, the approximately 10,000 spectators (10,076 is the maximum capacity of the stadium – almost always sold out!) have witnessed the triumph of the USA champion Serena Williams and the one of Stan Wawrinka, the swiss one, who triumphed on French Open, overcoming respectively Lucie Safarova and Novak Djokovic.
There were Many VIPs at the court of Roland Garros 2015; many of them coming from the world of sport and entertainment, others from the world of politics, or finance that matters. To the latter category belongs the Italian Giampaolo Lo Conte, a man who dedicated his life to international trading and large companies’ investments. “I’m here – told us in an interview in his studio in London – because I love tennis. It ‘a very tough sport, both physically and mentally, concentration always wins before physical strength. I will also be at Wimbledon! In a few weeks “.
Do we talk about business even in Paris? “Sure, but not on on Roland Garros’s stands – says Giampaolo Lo Conte, smiling. “People here loves to sunbathe and relax while enjoying the show. Including VIPs. ” Do you feel like a celebrity too? “Not an entertainment one … nor even a sports’ one! (Laughs again). “Let’s say I meet celebrities every week, but they do not recognize me very often, because I do not feature on TV. But do I focus on the ones that matter in the world of high finance: I left Italy, from Rome where I am born, and now I work a lot between New York and London. I do not think that will change any time soon”. But maybe it’s too early to tell!