Thousands give Djokovic hero's welcome

BELGRADE - About 100,000 Serbian tennis fans gave Novak Djokovic a royal reception in central Belgrade on Monday after the 24-year-old arrived home to celebrate winning his first Wimbledon title.

Djokovic, who leapt to the top of the ATP rankings in the process, was greeted by a deafening roar as he arrived in an open-top bus which took hours to reach the Serbian parliament square from the airport.

Traffic on the main motorway ground to a halt as fans got out of their cars to salute Serbia's most popular athlete, whose entire family paraded alongside him on a giant stage where rock bands entertained the crowd.