Visiting Djokovic knocks off Federer

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.

-- David Wharton

HORSE RACING

Leparoux wins award

Julien Leparoux, who rode three winners during the Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita, earned the Bill Shoemaker Award as the outstanding jockey of the two-day event.

The 26-year-old jockey was the only one with more than one victory.

Leparoux won the Juvenile Fillies with She Be Wild and the Filly & Mare Sprint aboard Informed Decision on Friday. He added the Dirt Mile with longshot Furthest Land on Saturday, giving him five career Breeders’ Cup wins.

ETC.

U.S. skates to two wins

Tucker Fredricks upset the favored South Koreans to win the 500-meter race at Berlin for the sixth speedskating World Cup victory of his career.

Fredericks clocked 35.06 seconds to edge Lee Kang-seok and Lee Kyou-hyuk, who were each timed in 35.10, with Lee Kang-seok getting second place on a photo finish.

There was another American victory when Shani Davis set a course record in winning the 1,500 meters.

Davis, the 1,000-meter Olympic champion, covered the distance in 1 minute 44.47 seconds in the opening meet of the season.

Davis was more than a second faster than Havard Bokko of Norway, who took second in 1:45.56. Denny Morrison of Canada was third in 1:45.69.

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The Philadelphia Phillies have declined their $5.5-million 2010 option on third baseman Pedro Feliz.

Feliz batted .266 with 12 home runs and 82 RBIs in 158 games for the National League champion Phillies this season.

He’ll receive a $500,000 buyout.