Wild card Den Ouden, the world no. 169, appeared in his first ATP Tour event since June 2024, when the 23-year-old Dutchman was eliminated in the first round of the Zagreb Indoors by Enzo Couacaud. In Rotterdam, where he'd appear in the main draw for just the second time, 49th-ranked and former Rotterdam finalist Marton Fucsovics was his first opponent.
Den Ouden fought fiercely for his place in the tournament and defended a service game before he broke Fucsovics in the very next game. The Dutchman struggled with unforced errors - he suffered 33 in the first set - and let Fucsovics back in the set after dropping a service set on his own late in the opening set.
Fucsovics was on the verge of taking the opening set three times after overwhelming Den Ouden in the tenth game, but the Dutchman defended tremendously and wiped all set points off the board to force a deciding tiebreak. Down two points after two consecutive breaks, Den Ouden fought his way back to the lead and took the set first with his first attempts.
His first set win on ATP Tour level unleashed new energy within Den Ouden, who raced to a 3-0 lead in the second set after saving the third game from a break after going down 40-0.
Fucsovics could win only one game as he was broken a second time for a 5-1 deficit and failed to cash in on any of his three break points in a pivotal seventh game, which Den Ouden won on his third match point.
Jesper de Jong drops lead
Den Ouden became the third Dutchman to reach the second round in Rotterdam and would stay the last after Jesper de Jong dropped his first-round match against Karen Khachanov after taking the lead early on: 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.
De Jong fought hard for an early break and kept his fighting spirit up after not allowing Khachanov a single break point in the first set.
The two players showed their service prowess in the second set, which saw just eight return points and one break point, which earned Khachanov the set win and a third set.
De Jong came out fighting again and broke Khachanov in the first game of the final set, but while defending staunchly shortly after, the Russian 18th-ranked player in the world showed his class with a break point and defending three the next game to keep the advantage on his side.
De Jong saved his double faults mainly for the final set and his last in the worst moment, allowing Khachanov advantage in the twelfth game and dropping the match by missing a volley on the last point.
The loss meant Den Ouden, Tallon Griekspoor and Botic van de Zandschulp remain in the ABN AMRO Open as the final three Dutchmen.
