HONOLULU – Cal men's tennis star Yuta Kikuchi defeated Duke's fourth-ranked Garrett Johns on Monday as the Golden Bears competed in the Hawaii Invitational. Kikuchi, a graduate student, upset the Blue Devil, 7-5, 4-6, 10-5, as Cal won six out of nine singles matches at the UH Tennis Complex.
 
"Everybody knows he's a great player," Kris Kwinta – Cal's Peter Wright Director of Men's Tennis – said of Kikuchi. "He can beat the best in the country. It was a good opportunity for him, and he took the opportunity. I'm happy for him and happy for our program, happy for how he played tennis. You can see his game, his serve getting stronger."
 
In singles, Cal also got wins from Philip Hjorth – a 4-6, 6-1, 10-8 winner over the Blue Devils' Jake Krug – Siddhant Banthia (6-3, 4-6, 10-3 over Duke's Niroop Vallabhaneni), Carl Emil Overbeck (6-1, 6-0 over Hawaii's Guillaume Tattevin), John Kim (6-4, 4-6, 10-4 over Hawaii's Kilian Maitre) and Lucas Magnaudet (6-3, 6-3 over Duke's Andrew Dale).
 
The Bears also went 1-4 in doubles in the Rainbow Warriors' one-day event, with Kikuchi and Hjorth beating Duke's Faris Khan and Niroop Vallabhaneni, 6-4.
 
"We had two days of tough competition," Kwinta said. "That's what we came here for. I'm happy with how we played today after a tough loss (vs. Florida State on Sunday). We came back hungry for more today."
 
Kwinta added, "These matches are great. You see where the guys are at and what they need to work on their game. It's definitely a great day for the coaches to see they're right there with some of the best teams in the country."
 
Cal (0-1) returns to dual-match play when the Bears host Saint Mary's on Jan. 16 and No. 12 Stanford on Jan. 20 at the Hellman Tennis Complex in Berkeley.
 
Hawaii Invitational – Cal Results
Jan. 9, 2023, in Honolulu, Hawaii
UH Tennis Complex
 
Singles
Yuta Kikuchi (Cal) def. No. 4 Garrett Johns (Duke), 7-5, 4-6, 10-5
Philip Hjorth (Cal) def. Jake Krug (Duke), 4-6, 6-1, 10-8
Siddhant Banthia (Cal) def. Niroop Vallabhaneni (Duke), 6-3, 4-6, 10-3
Carl Emil Overbeck (Cal) def. Guillaume Tattevin (Hawaii), 6-1, 6-0
Connor Krug (Duke) def. Derrick Chen (Cal), 6-2, 6-2
John Kim (Cal) def. Kilian Maitre (Hawaii), 6-4, 4-6, 10-4
Lucas Magnaudet (Cal) def. Andrew Dale (Duke), 6-3, 6-3
Faris Khan (Duke) def. Alex Chang (Cal), 6-4, 7-5
Karl Collins (Hawaii) def. Mikey Wright (Cal), 5-7, 7-6(0), 11-9
 
Doubles
Yuta Kikuchi/Philip Hjorth (Cal) def. Faris Khan/Niroop Vallabhaneni (Duke), 6-4
Garrett Johns/Pedro Rodenas (Duke) def. Siddhant Banthia/Carl Emil Overbeck (Cal), 6-1
Karl Collins/Andre Illagan (Hawaii) def. Ryder Jackson/Lucas Magnaudet (Cal), 6-3
Connor Krug/Michael Heller (Duke) def. Alex Chang/Derrick Chen (Cal), 6-2
Andy Hernandez/Axel Labrunie (Hawaii) def. John Kim/Mikey Wright (Cal), 6-4