Note: This post previously appeared on The Blog of Funny Names
“Nobody beats Vitas Gerulaitis 17 times in a row.”–Vitas Gerulaitis when he finally beat Jimmy Connors after losing to him 16 straight times.
Here at The Blog of Funny Names, we’ve always had a fascination with people who have two last names. Outerbridge Horsey is the classic. Then of course, there are those that have two first names–like the eponymous Tommy John.
Taylor Harry Fritz.
But seldom have we come across somebody whose name appears to be backwards. But that would seem to be the case with rising 18-year-old American tennis star, Taylor Harry Fritz. If his name was Fritz Harry Taylor, we wouldn’t consider feting him in these hallowed pages. Or Harry Fritz Taylor, or even Harry Taylor Fritz. It’s as if the names were picked out of a hat to come in that order.
But that aside, the tennis world is not laughing; especially the American tennis world. No American man has won a major tennis tournament since Andy Roddick won the US Open in 2003. No American man has even made the quarter finals of a major since Roddick, Mardy Fish (a great funny name as well) and John Isner all did it in 2011. There is currently no American man ranked higher than #17 in the world (Isner)
However you order his names, Taylor Fritz may just be the guy to change all that. He won the 2015 junior boys title at the US Open and finished the year as the top ranked junior in the world. And after turning pro in 2016? He won his first ATP tour title, qualified for the Australian Open, and has jumped to #65 in the world from a ranking in the 600’s in just a few months. He is the youngest player currently in the top 100. Last week at a tournament in Stuttgart, Germany, he got a real taste of the big time, meeting all–time great Roger Federer in the second round. He lost, but gave Federer a run for his money at 4-6, 7-5, 4-6. I don’t know if Federer will be around long enough for Fritz to play him 17 times, but I’d bet he won’t need that many to beat him. And that goes no matter what order you say his names in.
As for me, if you’re tired of this blog, you can go to my new, second blog, Seeking Delphi, and mock me there.
Cheers,
The Millennium Conjectures™ 
He reached the finals in boys’ singles at the 2015 French Open, and lost to fellow American Tommy Paul in three sets. He avenged the loss by defeating Paul in the boys’ singles final at the 2015 US Open .