Belgrade - Serbia's Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic and Novak Djokovic got a heroes' welcome from several thousand fans in front of Belgrade city hall after returning from the French Open in Paris on Sunday.
"We've worked hard all these years to be able to share our joy here with you," men's singles semifinalist Djokovic said amid wild cheers from a jubilant crowd.
"We know you will keep supporting us and we hope to come back here very soon," he said.
Women's singles finalist Ivanovic and semifinalist Jankovic, both beaten by triple French Open champion Justine Henin, thanked the fans for an emotional reception.
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'We are playing our hearts out for Serbia' "We are playing our hearts out for Serbia and I am delighted to be here and thank everyone for a fantastic response," said Jankovic, who will be the world number three when the latest WTA ranking are issued on Monday.
"This means so much to us and the news of a tennis frenzy we were getting from Serbia while battling away at Roland Garros gave us the strength to carry on," said Ivanovic.
Many fans in Serbia had been glued to their television sets over the past two weeks watching the trio progress in what media in Belgrade hailed as a renaissance of the country's tennis.
"The girls deserve all the credit for their performances in Paris and I am convinced that one of us will win a Grand Slam title in the next 18 months," Djokovic said.
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