Paris — Scurrying along the baseline as only he can, sliding through the red clay he rules, Rafael Nadal stretched to somehow dig the ball out of a corner and fling it back over the net — once, twice, three times — during a 14-stroke exchange that ended when Robin Soderling sailed a shot long.

The French Open final was all of seven points old, and the message was unmistakable: Nadal’s knees are fine now, which means he is an entirely different player from the one Soderling stunned at Roland Garros in 2009. That was the first loss of Nadal’s career at this tournament, and it remains the only one.

His body sound, his mind at ease, Nadal played his unique brand of relentless, perpetual-motion tennis to handily beat the No. 5-seeded Soderling of Sweden, 6-4, 6-2, 6-4, Sunday. Nadal won his fifth French Open championship, his seventh Grand Slam title overall, and earned a return to No. 1.

“I lost last year because I was not well prepared, and I had very low morale last year, as well,” said Nadal, who will supplant Roger Federer atop the rankings today.

“But this time, I’m back,” Nadal said.

Rose rallies for Memorial crown

Dublin, Ohio — Justin Rose joined the English revival in golf on Sunday, rallying from a four-shot deficit to win the Memorial with a flawless final round for his first victory in seven years on the PGA Tour.

Augusta St. tops Okie St. for title

Chattanooga, Tenn. — Augusta State won its first NCAA Div. I men’s golf national championship after Oklahoma State’s Kevin Tway missed a three-foot putt on a playoff hole to hand Mitch Krywulycz the match and the Jaguars a 3-1-1 victory.

Gainey gains first tour title

College Park, Md. — Tommy Gainey won the Prince George’s County Open for his first Nationwide Tour title, closing with a 6-under 65 on Sunday for a one-stroke victory over Frank Lickliter II and Jin Park.

Price prevails in Principal Charity

West Des Moines, Iowa — Nick Price shot an 4-under 67 to hold off Tommy Armour III and win the Principal Charity Classic by four strokes.

McDowell fires 63, wins at Wales

Newport, Wales — Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland shot a closing-round 63 to pick up his fifth career European Tour victory at the Wales Open on Sunday.

Auto racing

Hamlin champion again at Pocono

Long Pond, Pa. — Denny Hamlin won again at Pocono, pulling away from teammate Kyle Busch following a late restart Sunday in the 500-mile race at the massive 2.5-mile oval.

The victory was Hamlin’s fourth of the season and fourth in nine career starts at the “tricky triangle.”

Hockey

Blackhawks rebound, take 3-2 lead

Chicago — Dustin Byfuglien scored two goals and had two assists as the Chicago Blackhawks got off to a quick start, got their offense untracked and beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 7-4, on Sunday night for a 3-2 lead in the Stanley Cup finals.

Chicago can capture the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1961 with a victory Wednesday night in Philadelphia in Game 6.

Cycling

Carrara triumphs in Luxembourg

Luxembourg — Italian Matteo Carrara won the Tour of Luxembourg, with Lance Armstrong finishing third Sunday.

The fourth and last stage of the race was won by Spaniard Gorka Izaguirre in a sprint shortened by torrential rain.

Carrara claimed his first major win, beating 2009 winner Frank Schleck of Luxembourg.

NBA

Hornets close to introducing coach

New Orleans — New Orleans Hornets spokesman Harold Kaufman says the club hopes to introduce Monty Williams as its new head coach by Tuesday.

College Baseball

Last year’s champs ousted early

Los Angeles — LSU, the defending College World Series champion, was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament on Sunday with a 4-3 loss to UC Irvine in the Los Angeles Regional. LSU beat Texas last year to win the title.