4 shocking results from Italian 2025 Day 5 ft. Amanda Anisimova and Denis Shapovalov

Amanda Anisimova and Denis Shapovalov were two of the big seeds to fall on Day 5 of the 2025 Italian Open, which commenced with main draw action on Tuesday. They were shown the door by much-lower-ranked opponents in both cases.

While Anisimova was looking to rediscover the sort of form that saw her surge to the Qatar Open title back in February this year, Shapovalov was eyeing to move past the disappointment of making early exits in Monte Carlo, Madrid, and Munich.

Those two were not the only ones to have been shown the door. Here, we take a look at the four most shocking results from Day 5 of the 2025 Italian Open:

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#4 Bianca Andreescu def. Donna Vekic

Bianca Andreescu beat Donna Vekic (Source: Getty)

An aggressive approach paid dividends for Bianca Andreescu, who is returning from an injury layoff, during her second-round encounter against 20th seed Donna Vekic.

The Canadian made the best of her opponent’s low first-serve percentage (around 45%) to put pressure from the first shot. She hammered away at the second delivery, generating 14 breakpoint chances. She wasn’t the most clinical, but still managed to convert on five of those occasions throughout the match.

Vekic had her moments, particularly in the second set, but it was ultimately the serve that let her down. A high 11 double faults and the poor percentage on the first delivery meant that she was always under pressure, until Andreescu finally came through 6-1, 3-6, 6-2.

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#3 Veronika Kudermetova def. Amanda Anisimova

Veronika Kudermetova ousted Amanda Anisimova (Source: Getty)

Another encounter with plenty of breakpoint chances saw Veronika Kudermetova oust 15th seed and 2025 Qatar Open champion Amanda Anisimova in two keenly contested sets.

Neither player was their best on serve, with the 33 break chances standing testament to that. At the end, Kudermetova just had one more seven to six, and that was enough in helping her secure the 7-6(5), 7-5 victory over her big-hitting opponent.

Anisimova was trying to put pressure on her opponent using the powerful groundstrokes, but Kudermetova was too steady from the baseline. Kudermetova's opponents’ 11 double faults only helped her cause.

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#2 Vilius Gaubas def. Denis Shapovalov

Vilius Gaubas was a victor over Denis Shapovalov. (Source: Getty)

There’s something about players from Europe and clay. Lithuania’s Vilius Gaubas proved that right with his masterclass at the Italian Open second round against Denis Shapovalov.

Gaubas wasn’t always playing the flashiest of tennis by serving ace after ace or hitting from all corners of the court. That said, his steady approach was just enough to send him off-kilter.

Shapovalov’s high-risk game has high rewards, but it is just as prone to break down. The fact that he never won more than two consecutive games in a 6-4, 6-3 defeat would signal that the latter was the case at the Italian Open.

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#1 Francesco Passaro def. Grigor Dimitrov

Vilius Gaubas got the better of Grigor Dimitrov Source: Getty

Grigor Dimitrov has never been comfortable on clay but has admittedly begun to like playing in the conditions more over the years. All of that, however, came to nothing as he succumbed to a tame 7-5, 6-3 loss.

The serve was problematic as he conceded 14 breakpoint opportunities in the encounter. Even worse, though, he was unable to put pressure on his opponent’s rather attackable second serve, winning only about half the points in that department.

It was one of the biggest wins of the Italian player’s career, with him never having come close to beating a renowned player. He was understandably overjoyed, with the home venue making the win all the more poignant.