Buenos Aires (Argentina) - Argentina's Carlos Berlocq captured the last stage of the Copa Petrobras, a five-week South American challenger circuit. Berlocq, a Buenos Aires resident, posted a 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 win over fellow countryman Diego Hartfield to earn $14,000 and 70 Entry Ranking points.

Along the week, Berlocq emphasized the importance of the challenger circuit for the South American players. "The circuit was essential for me to achieve a good ranking," said Berlocq, also a semifinalist in Bogota and Aracaju. "In the beginning of 2006 I will play the Australian Open and for the rest of the first half of the season I will only play in ATP events." With the title, the 23-year-old Argentine climbed to No. 83 in this week's ATP Entry Ranking, a career-high.

"I still need to improve a lot but I am sure that I have the discipline and energy for that," said Berlocq, who played 68 matches in challenger events this season, winning 48 of those matches with three titles (Buenos Aires, Turim and Cordenons). "I want to thank my coach (Chino Gerosi) who taught me a lot for the past two years. He was with me when I was in a tough time of my career, but we kept working and here we are today."

After five weeks of competition, the Copa Petrobras challenger circuit ended in Buenos Aires. Brazil (Marcos Daniel and Julio Silva) and Argentina (Juan Martin Del Potro and Carlos Berloq) claimed two titles each, while Boris Pashanski (Serbia and Montenegro) won the lone title for the Europeans.

Doubles
Top seeds Argentines Lucas Arnold and Sebastien Prieto rolled past Spaniard's Ruben Ramirez-Hidalgo and Santiago Ventura 6-0, 6-4 to claim the doubles title of the last stage of the Copa Petrobras.
Arnold and Prieto, finalists in St. Poelten, were playing as a duo for the second time in their careers. They received 70 Entry Ranking points and shared $7,200.