This is amazing - we are the craziest people in the world

Goran Ivanisevic

They had begun gathering in the afternoon, and by the evening it was clearly one of the biggest celebrations Croatia had ever seen.

The streets were packed in and around this coastal city.

Everyone was jostling, trying to get into the main square. Even rooftops were suitable vantage points.

Those who could not fit on land took to the sea with boats thronging the waterfront.

Goran soon got into the party mood and stripped off

Split was welcoming home its son, its undisputed hero.

When Goran finally appeared on stage the crowd was euphoric. Smiling and crying for joy they yelled: "Goran, we love you".

Initially he simply looked bemused at the adulation, but going with the spirit of the moment he had soon stripped down to his underpants throwing his clothes into the ecstatic crowd.

"This is unforgettable," he told the crowd "This is amazing. We are the craziest people in the world."

Carefree Croats

Croatia had watched Ivanisevic reach the Wimbledon finals three times before only to lose, now they were there to share his victory.

The rest of the world can see that we are not fascists but fun intelligent people who know how to have a good time

Split resident

The Croatian flag was everywhere, a helicopter even circled overhead displaying one. However, as well as the requisite flags, tennis raquets have now become a new national symbol here.

Over the past weekend the country has been on the brink of political collapse.

Ivanisevic's win has eclipsed Croatia's worries. They feel it has shown the rest of the world Croatia in a light away from the shadow of war crimes.

As one person put it: "The rest of the world can see that we are not fascists, but fun intelligent people who know how to have a good time."

President Ivanisevic?

The mood was starkly different from the last time Split had hosted so many outsiders - then it was a gathering of nationalist supporters against a war crimes prosecution.

The Croatian flag was everywhere

Today the crowd brushed aside their political problems and enjoyed a simple moment of pride.

The closest it came to politics was a banner suggestion that Goran should perhaps be president.

Whilst Ivanisevic plans to take the next 10 days off sailing down the Dalmatian coast, he was certainly not resting on Tuesday.

Croatia's biggest celebration continued well into the early hours.