Top-ranked Roger Federer lost his hometown tournament Sunday, falling, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, to Novak Djokovic in the Swiss Indoors final at Basel.
Djokovic earned his fourth title of the season with a victory that ended Federer's run of three straight titles at the tournament where he was once a ball boy.
"It's disappointing to lose at home in the finals, no doubt," Federer said. "I thought I missed plenty of opportunities. I'm not looking for excuses. He played tough and he played well when he had to, and saved a ton of break points that were crucial."
Djokovic improved to 3-2 this year against Federer, and said the top-ranked Swiss pushed him to his limits.
"I have to produce something special to win," Djokovic said at sold-out St. Jakobshalle.
The second-seeded Serb clinched the first set by saving five break points in a game that lasted 24 minutes.
Federer is 59-9 this year after losing only his third match since May.
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Italy won its second Fed Cup title in four years, completing a shutout of a young U.S. team playing without Venus and Serena Williams at Reggio Calabria, Italy.
Flavia Pennetta beat U.S. Open quarterfinalist Melanie Oudin, 7-5, 6-2, to give the experienced Italians an insurmountable 3-0 lead in the best-of-five series on an outdoor clay court at the Rocco Polimeni club.
The Williams sisters opted not to play after meeting in the season-ending tour championships final last weekend.
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Andy Murray of Britain won his sixth title of the season in his first tournament back from a wrist injury, beating Mikhail Youzhny of Russia, 6-3, 6-2, in the Valencia Open final in Spain. . . . James Blake of the United States defeated French veteran Fabrice Santoro, 6-4, 6-3, in the first round of the Paris Masters. Blake next plays the fourth-seeded Murray. In another first-round match, Benjamin Becker beat Michael Llodra of France, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3. The German next meets sixth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko of Russia.
BASKETBALL
UCLA forward injured
UCLA freshman forward Tyler Honeycutt will be out three to four weeks because of a stress reaction in his right tibia, Coach Ben Howland said.
Honeycutt had spent all summer recovering from a spinal stress fracture. The new injury, confirmed by an MRI exam, occurred during practice Saturday.
Among other injured Bruins, guards Jerime Anderson and Michael Roll were expected to play more this week. Freshman Brendan Lane is still recovering from an ankle sprain.
