French Open giant killer Robin Soderling insisted he never stopped believing he could end his hoodoo against Roger Federer.
Soderling followed up last year's historic Roland Garros victory over king of clay Rafael Nadal by ending Federer's run of 23 straight grand slam semi-final appearances.
It was very much unlucky 13 for the Swiss, who had won all 12 of his previous competitive meetings with Soderling but went down 3-6 6-3 7-5 6-4 in a rain-hit two-and-a-half hours on Philippe Chatrier Court.
The victory was also vengeance for Soderling's defeat in last year's final against Federer, whose last defeat prior to the semi-final stage of a major came at the same tournament six years ago.
Fifth seed Soderling went into the match as the only player on tour to have faced Federer on more than 10 occasions and lost every time.
His dozen defeats had also seen him claim just two sets from the world number one, although one of those did come at last year's US Open and he did beat Federer in an exhibition in Abu Dhabi in January.
"I think even though I lost so many times, I always had a chance to win," the 25-year-old Soderling said.
"I came close a couple of times before and I feel one or two times that I've actually been a little bit unlucky.
"With a little bit of luck, I could have won."
Insisting he was not superstitious despite today being his 13th attempt to beat Federer, Soderling added: "Losing so many times, I think you will come closer to a win eventually.
"I'm really glad that I won here in a grand slam and not in a smaller tournament - even though a win against Federer, it's always big."
Soderling, who last year became the first man ever to beat Nadal at Roland Garros when the Spaniard was the sport's supreme player, added: "Of course, it is nice to beat the world number one two years in a row on centre court.
"I think both times I played really good tennis. It's a great feeling."
Asked about Federer's remarkable run of last-four appearances, Soderling said: "It's certainly not easy playing 23 or 24 consecutive semi-finals, which is just huge."
Soderling was rewarded for a fearless approach in what was a high-octane affair that saw both men race through the points.
He also coped much better than his illustrious opponent with what were treacherous conditions.
Light rain dogged much of the match and there were two delays when it got too heavy to continue, the first lasting more than an hour towards the end of the third set.
When play resumed, Federer's level dropped and Soderling took full advantage.
"I think when I won the second set, which was very big for me, I really felt that I could relax a little bit," he said.
"After that, I think I started to play better and better."