More than 1,000 people, mostly young, braved the cold on Monday night, gathering in front of the capital’s City Hall to celebrate Serbia’s Davis Cup victory over France last weekend.

Waving Serbian flags and carrying placards with photos of the players, young Belgraders noisily welcomed “Serbia’s heroes” who greeted them from the balcony of the City Hall.

“I was here when I won tournaments, but now, with my friends from the national team, it is more important,” world number three Novak Djokovic told the crowd.

“We have something that no team has: friendship both on the tennis court and in private and that contributes to winning this title,” he said.

For many, the main hero of the weekend matches, Viktor Troicki, could hardly hide his tears while thanking fans for their “incredible support”.

“You carried me during the match and helped me and my teamsters to make this great success,” a visibly moved Troicki said.

Serbia, who had never won the Davis Cup before, entered Sunday’s reverse singles 1-2 down after losing the doubles in five sets on Saturday, but straight sets victories for Djokovic and Troicki over Gael Monfils and Michael Llodra turned the tide.