Paris ? Svetlana Kuznetsova never struck Dinara Safina as a Grand Slam champion in the making when they were kids in Russia. Kuznetsova showed up for matches toting a 2-liter bottle of soda and wearing rock band T-shirts.

As of Saturday, Kuznetsova owns two major titles — and that’s two more than Safina.

Far steadier, if not all that spectacular, Kuznetsova took advantage of the No. 1-ranked Safina’s assorted errors and won the French Open final, 6-4, 6-2. Hardly a work of beauty, the 74-minute match ended, fittingly, with Safina’s seventh double-fault.

“She was too tight. She had so much pressure on her,” said Kuznetsova, who also won the 2004 U.S. Open. “I just played the match. It was just one more match. … Definitely it was a lot of emotions inside of me, but I control it.”

Not at the outset: She lost the first three points and was broken in the first game. Quickly, though, the seventh-seeded Kuznetsova took control, yanking Safina from side to side with the same powerful groundstrokes that eliminated Serena Williams in the quarterfinals.

More dispiriting to Safina, perhaps, was Kuznetsova’s defense.

Time and time again, Safina — sister of two-time major champion Marat Safin — delivered a hard, well-placed shot.

On match point, Safina’s second serve hit the net tape and popped up, sailing beyond the doubles alley.

When Kuznetsova would allow herself to imagine winning the French Open, she always pictured herself dropping to the clay in joy. But the anticlimactic way this one ended didn’t call for such a celebration.

SOCCER

U.S. edges Honduras, 2-1

Chicago — Carlos Bocanegra scored on a diving header off Landon Donovan’s corner kick in the 68th minute, and the United States rallied to beat Honduras, 2-1, in a World Cup qualifier Saturday night.

Coming off a 3-1 loss at Costa Rica on Wednesday, the United States fell behind when Carlos Costly scored in the fifth minute.

Wizards fall to Crew, 2-0

Kansas City, Kan. — Guillermo Barros Schelotto capitalized on an early defensive mistake for a goal, then tacked on a second-half penalty kick for another, and the Columbus Crew broke an eight-match road winless streak with a 2-0 victory over the Kansas City Wizards on Saturday night.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Memphis makes its case

Indianapolis — The NCAA met with Memphis officials on Saturday to discuss major violations, and the school must now wait at least six weeks for a ruling on whether its 38 wins from the 2007-08 season will count.

The most serious allegation taken up at the meeting was whether an unknown person took the SAT for a player.

The NCAA has said the athlete in question played for the Tigers for only the 2007-08 season and the 2008 NCAA Tournament. The only person who fits the description in documents obtained by The Associated Press is Derrick Rose, the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft after that season.

Memphis athletic director R.C. Johnson had no comment as he left the four-hour meeting. Memphis president Dr. Shirley Raines also would not speak, but issued a statement.

Memphis officials have said the school should keep the victories from the 2007-08 season that ended in a national-title game loss to Kansas. An NCAA spokeswoman said a ruling was expected between six and eight weeks

Wise staying at Arizona

Tucson, Ariz. — All Pac-10 point guard Nic Wise decided to return to Arizona for his senior year and forgo the NBA Draft. Wise made himself available for the draft in April but didn’t hire an agent. Wise, who averaged 15.7 points last season, called new head coach Sean Miller with the news on Saturday.

HOCKEY

Wings take series lead

Detroit — Pavel Datsyuk made an instant impact for the Detroit Red Wings in a 5-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, giving them a 3-2 lead in the Stanley Cup finals.

Datsyuk, who missed seven games with a foot injury, set up Dan Cleary’s goal that started the scoring Saturday night, was on the ice for the second score and assisted on Brian Rafalski’s tally that gave the Red Wings a 4-0 lead midway through the second period.

Henrik Zetterberg scored late in the second, chasing Marc-Andre Fleury, who stopped just 18 of 23 shots. Detroit’s Chris Osgood made 22 saves for his 15th career playoff shutout.

Game 6 is Tuesday night in Pittsburgh.

GOLF

Two tied at Memorial

Dublin, Ohio — Matt Bettencourt ran off four straight birdies Saturday on the super slick greens of Muirfield Village, survived a few scary moments on the back nine and wound up with a 4-under 68 for a share of the lead in the Memorial. Two-time tour winner Mark Wilson had a 69 to match Wilson at 9-under 207 at Jack Nicklaus’ tournament.

Jim Furyk steadied himself for a 71 and was one shot behind with Jonathan Byrd, who overcame a triple bogey on the par-3 fourth and finished with a birdie for a 71.

Former U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy was at 7 under, tied with former PGA champion Davis Love III (69), who chipped in for birdie on his last hole. Tiger Woods climbed into contention on the back nine and shot a 68, leaving him four shots behind.

Kerr, McPherson tied

Springfield, Ill. — Cristie Kerr made a big jump into a tie for the lead with Kristy McPherson at the State Farm Classic, delivering a dominant showing before a late fade in the windy third round. Four strokes back after the second round, Kerr settled for a 6-under 66 after bogeying two of the final three holes

Langer holds one-shot edge

Lakeway, Texas — Bernhard Langer shot a 3-under 69 in warm conditions to maintain a one-stroke lead after the second round of the Triton Financial Classic. He had a 10-under 134 total on The Hills Country Club course.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Ex-Washington coach dies

Seattle — Jim Owens, who led a resurgence of West Coast football during his 18 seasons as University of Washington coach, has died at age 82. Owens died Saturday at his home in Bigfork, Mont. Owens, who played at Oklahoma for Bud Wilkinson, coached at Washington from 1957 until his retirement in 1974.

Fordham to give scholarships

New York — Fordham will award football scholarships next year for the first time since 1954, hoping to compete with the top schools in the Football Championship Subdivision. Fordham is a member of the Patriot League, which does not offer football scholarships.