Djokovic earned his fourth title of the season and ended Federer's run of three 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."

Host Italy completed a shutout of the United States, which was without Venus and Serena Williams, to win its second Fed Cup title in four years.

Flavia Pennetta's 7-5, 6-2 win over Melanie Oudin gave Italy an insurmountable 3-0 lead in the best-of-five series in Reggio Calabria.

The fourth-singles match was canceled, and Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci completed the 4-0 shutout by edging Liezel Huber and Vania King in doubles, 4-6, 6-3, 11-9, in a champions tiebreaker.

Andy Murray of Scotland 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 beat French veteran Fabrice Santoro, 6-4, 6-3, in the first round of the Paris Masters in France.

The 36-year-old Santoro is playing his final season on the ATP tour.

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

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

American 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.

COLLEGES: Ursinus' Katie Hunt, Rowan's Jenna Lombardo, and Eastern's Lindsay Moyer were named to the National Field Hockey Coaches' Association Division III senior all-star team.

Sarah Simonetti became the first Philadelphia University runner to earn a spot in the NCAA Division II women's cross-country championships, which will be run Nov. 21 at Southern Indiana University. Simonetti finished fifth (22:52) in the 6-kilometer East Regional meet in Lowell, Mass.

SOCCER: Brian Ching scored six minutes into overtime as the Houston Dynamo advanced to the MLS Western Conference final for the third time in four years with a 1-0 victory over the visiting Seattle Sounders.

The teams played to a scoreless tie in the first leg of their two-game semifinal Oct. 29, setting up the winner-take-all match.

The Dynamo will visit the Los Angeles Galaxy on Friday night to determine who goes to the MLS Cup final.

The Galaxy advanced to the Western Conference final when Landon Donovan scored on a 73d-minute penalty kick for a 1-0 victory over Chivas USA in Carson, Calif. His 16th postseason goal tied an MLS record and sent the Galaxy through, 3-2, on aggregate goals after a 2-2 tie last week.

Galaxy goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts made two saves, both in the first half.

HORSE RACING: Julien Leparoux rode three winners during the Breeders' Cup world championships, earning the Bill Shoemaker award as the outstanding jockey of the two-day event in Arcadia, Calif.

- Staff and wire reports