One spot outside the Roland-Garros main draw since last Wednesday, the 25-year-old was hoping to avoid qualifying altogether this year.

When his name wasn’t added to the direct acceptance list in time, however, the top seed in the qualifying draw took care of business early on Monday morning, defeating China’s Sun Fajing, 7-6(4), 7-6(5), to set a second-round meeting with Canada’s Liam Draxl.

“I'm starting to win more matches,” No.109-ranked De Jong said after his victory, before explaining the mental challenges he faced.

“Of course, it's not easy to play the first round at 10am on a Monday morning. Since Wednesday, I was already one spot outside the main draw, so you're hoping all the time for one more player to pull out and you’re in.”

The top seed in qualifying has very good odds of making the main draw, as some players typically end up withdrawing at the last moment because of injury.

De Jong had no such luck.

Once he accepted his reality, he played solidly throughout, mixing in variety effectively and closing the match with a screaming crosscourt forehand — one of his best shots of the day.

The victory was not unexpected. Top-seeded De Jong has become a steady force at ATP level over the last two years, beginning with his first Grand Slam main-draw win at the 2024 Australian Open. Later that year he qualified and reached the second round in Paris, taking a set off eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz before bowing out in four sets.

“It's everyone's dream to play Alcaraz on Chatrier, and then playing such a match and winning a set 6-2 is not something everyone does every day,” he said.

The Dutchman has gained invaluable experience at the majors over the last two years, including battles with Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev. At Masters 1000 level, he reached the third round for the first time last year in Rome, and repeated the feat in Shanghai.

“Playing against those guys and playing good matches has been a great experience,” he said. “Of course against Sinner I got smashed — I'm not the only one. Played against Medvedev this year in the first round in Australia. So those are not the greatest draws. Next time I would rather not have them in my section, but those are amazing players and those are the matches you play for.”

Everything that has happened over the last few years, including a top 100 debut and a career-high ranking of No. 71, has helped De Jong grow more confident in his abilities.

“I feel like I'm not at my peak level yet,” he said. “I can still improve so much, so I'm still very positive that I can be at bigger stages. I can grow more, get further into tournaments.

"But I have to improve — everyone is getting so good. The qualies are stacked with good players. And everyone wants a piece of the cake — you have to get better.”

Life on tour is difficult, with each player essentially functioning on their own island while constantly fighting off challengers chasing the same dream.

But De Jong can always turn to family when he needs inspiration. The Dutchman shared a special bond with his grandfather, and when he passed away in 2023, De Jong got a tattoo on his left arm infused with his ashes to commemorate their connection.

“It was a very special bond and yeah, it's good to have him with me,” he said. “When I posted about my top 100 debut on Instagram, the second picture is me in the first match of my life, with my grandfather behind me. He was already watching.”

Another of De Jong’s tattoos sums up his relationship with life on tour, whether he’s grinding through an early morning qualifying match or battling legends on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

“It was all a dream.”

And the dream lives on.