ENet Senior CASA: Cumberbatch overcomes Jervis to win Men’s Open title

By Avenash Ramzan

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Khamal Cumberbatch kept his hands on the Men’s Open title at the ENet Senior Caribbean Squash Championship, digging deep to defeat Julian Jervis in the final on Tuesday evening at the Georgetown Club Courts.

Cumberbatch of Barbados topped Jervis of the Cayman Islands 13-11, 11-9, 11-5 in 38 minutes of high-intensity squash to determine the best male player of the region.

Cumberbatch, who comes from a Bajan family with a rich legacy in the sport, has been in tremendous form in recent years.

In 2022, he made the final of Senior CASA, finishing second best to the prolific 10-time champion Chris Binnie of Jamaica.

In 2023, he won the title outright by beating Cameron Stafford of the Cayman Islands; fast forward to a year later, he has made a successful title defence.

Speaking to News Room Sport immediately after the win, Cumberbatch said the thought of winning the title back-to-back has not quite sunk in.

“To win it for the first time last year, it meant to world to me. That is something I worked my entire life for,” Cumberbatch related.

“To defend it, I’m feeling something completely different. Going in as the number one seed, you have to back it up. Last year I felt I had to prove something, this year it’s way more than that, so I’m on top of the world right now.”

In terms of strategy and preparation for the big challenge of a final, Cumberbatch said spending time away from the game has proven an effective method to success.

“I find people that tend to stay too involved and think too much about it, while I try to get away as much as possible. Just do things that you enjoy and then when you get in the moment, just go for it.”

‘Proud, but disappointed’

Understandably, Jervis was disappointed to miss out on gold, but the Cayman Islands player felt he represented his nation well in the final.

By his own admission, managing his temper was a major battle during the final with Cumberbatch, as well as overcoming the nerves of making a final he dreamt of as a child.

Jervis gained a bye to the final following an injury to his opponent Stafford, who did not contest the semi-final.

“I’m proud of myself for making it this far. On court I felt like I represented myself well,” Jervis related.

“In the past it’s really been my temper and letting my emotions get the better of me because I do play with quite a bit of passion, which works for me and against me at the same time.”

“My big goal was to keep a lid on my temper and I think I did that pretty well throughout the first and second game, but I was still internalizing it and that made me a bit tense on the inside and that made me fell off the cliff energy wise.”