Federer routs Nishikori in Basel final

   As they say, be careful what you wish for.
   Wild card Kei Nishikori, who said Saturday that he always wanted to play Roger Federer, lost to the third-seeded superstar 6-1, 6-3 Sunday in the final of the $2.6 million Swiss Indoors in Basel.
   "I think I started a little bit nervous, even though at the same time I was excited to play in the final here with Roger,” Nishikori, who's coached by Brad Gilbert of San Rafael, said on the ATP World Tour's Web site. “I’m a bit disappointed with how I played today, as it didn’t go well, but it’s always going to be tough against him. ... His tennis was too good for me. I felt like I couldn’t do anything.”
   Nishikori, 21, of Japan rose eight spots to a career-high No. 24 in the world. He was seeking his second ATP World Tour title after winning Delray Beach three years ago. The right-hander underwent surgery on his right elbow in August 2009 and plunged to No. 898 early last year.
   The Basel final was Nishikori's second of the season. He lost to Ryan Sweeting of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on clay in Houston in April.
   “Every match is a good experience, especially when you’re playing Top 10 guys,” Nishikori said. “It’s a different level, and I’ve learned from these matches.”
   Federer ended a 10-month title drought, his longest since he went 11 months between the first two crowns of his career in 2001 and 2002. The Basel title was his fifth in his hometown tournament and marked the fifth time he was won an event at least that many times.
   Bryans win another title -- Top seeds and former Stanford All-Americans Bob and Mike Bryan won their second title in two weeks, beating unseeded Eric Butorac and Jean-Julien Rojer 6-4, 7-6 (9) in the $2.85 million Valencia (Spain) Open.
   The 33-year-old twin sons of Sacramento Capitals coach Wayne Bryan were playing in the indoor, hardcourt tournament for the first time since 2003, when the event was played on clay. The title was their eighth of the year, including the Australian Open and Wimbledon, and record 75th of their career.
   Butorac played for the Capitals in 2008.
   Querrey loses in qualifying -- Sam Querrey, a San Francisco native, fell to fifth-seeded Andreas Seppi of Italy 6-7 (2), 6-1, 6-1 in the second (final) round of qualifying for the $3.78 million BNP Paribas Masters in Paris.
   The 6-foot-6 Querrey reached the semifinals of the Sacramento Challenger and the final of the Tiburon Challenger last month, losing to 6-10 Ivo Karlovic of Croatia each time.
   Two former Sacramento champions, Donald Young (2008) of Atlanta and Santiago Giraldo (2009) of Colombia, advanced to the main draw.
   NorCal showdown -- In an all-Northern California matchup, fourth-seeded Yasmin Schnack downed Maria Sanchez 6-3, 6-1 in the first round of qualifying for the $75,000 Goldwater Women's Tennis Classic in Phoenix.
   Schnack, from the Sacramento suburb of Elk Grove, and Sanchez, from Modesto, won the doubles title in the $25,000 Oak River Rehab Challenger in Redding in September.