Davis Cup: Andy Murray and team can inspire a nation - John Lloyd

Great Britain's first Davis Cup final win for 79 years needs to be used to inspire the next generation of tennis players, says former British finalist John Lloyd.

Andy Murray's singles win over David Goffin in Ghent on Sunday secured Britain a 3-1 win over Belgium.

"Hopefully we will use this; we've got to inspire more players in Britain," Lloyd told BBC Sport.

"When they see this event, surely people will be inspired by it."

Lloyd was part of the last Great Britain team to reach the final in 1978, when they were beaten 4-1 by the United States in California.

But, led by world number two Andy Murray, the class of 2015 went one better as they brought the title back to Britain for the first time since 1936.

"It is the most amazing achievement when you think about where we were and where we are now - champions of the world," Lloyd added.

"Andy's performance was staggering. To go up against this crowd and to win in three straight sets - it's just tremendous."

Murray, 28, joins John McEnroe and Mats Wilander as the only men to have an 8-0 singles record in a Davis Cup year, while his doubles victories make him only the fourth man to win 11 rubbers in a single year.

His latest success follows him ending Britain's 77-year wait for a men's Wimbledon singles champion in 2013.

Behind him, the next highest ranked player in the team is Kyle Edmund at 110, with James Ward 156th.

"The responsibility is to take this success and to spread it. Share it and learn from it and tell people about it - and broadcast the message that this is great fun and a sport for life," said former British Davis Cup player Andrew Castle.

"If you've got the Davis Cup on the back of a truck, take it round and show it off - it was hard won."

Politicians were also quick to pay tribute to Murray and his team-mates, with sports minister Tracey Crouch saying: "This win gives a massive boost to British Tennis and I hope the LTA can capitalise on it and bring even more people into the sport."

The biggest trophy in the world?

The Davis Cup spent both World Wars in a bank vault in New York

There can be few - if any - trophies in the world of sport that weigh more than the 231 pounds the Davis Cup totals on the scales.

At 5ft 8ins, Indy 500's Borg-Warner trophy is taller but it weighs almost 100 pounds less.

The Davis Cup is the only major sporting cup to have lasted a full century and has been presented 102 times since it was first contested in 1900.

Names of the players from both the winning team and the beaten finalists are engraved on the trophy, so the need for space has led to the addition of accompanying silver tablets on circular bases.

The third and most recent plinth, the largest, was added in 2002, increasing the height of the trophy to 3ft 7in.

It is estimated it would cost around £398,620 to reproduce.

Murray magic - in numbers

• Murray's win over David Goffin on Sunday meant he contributed 11 of Britain's 12 winning rubbers in this year's World Group campaign.

• His 11 wins all came in live rubbers, matching Ivan Ljubicic's feat for Croatia in 2005. However, Murray ended the year 11-0, whereas Ljubicic's was 11-1 having lost a singles in the final against Slovakia.

• Murray becomes the first player to win three live rubbers in the final since American Pete Sampras in 1995.

• The Scot has won 27 of his last 28 singles matches in the Davis Cup, his only loss since 2005 coming against Italian Fabio Fognini in last year's quarter-final in Naples.

How social media reacted

The name 'Murray' was tweeted across the globe as shown by the heat map above

• The name 'Murray' was tweeted 49,453 times in the three hours after Great Britain's Davis Cup victory.

• It peaked at 1,854 between 15:04 and 15:05, just after the winning point.

Andy Murray's tweet sums it all up

British squad member Dom Inglot posted a selfie on Twitter soon after the final win

Jamie Murray posted the above picture on Instagram with the message "Davis Cup Winners 2015!!!"

Andy Murray had time to pose for a picture with some of his fans in Ghent

World number one Novak Djokovic: Congrats #teamGB on DC win! Andy Murray seeing your reaction after winning made me relive again how it was for us in '10. Well done, you deserve it.

Former world number one Boris Becker: Amazing Andy Murray !!! Well done Captain Leon Smith and rest of Tennis GB ! You guys made history today...

Britain's former world heavyweight boxing champion David Haye: "So happy for Andy Murray, another great moment & another British World Champion this weekend! Congratulations mate!!"

Actor Kevin Spacey: Congrats Andy Murray on Davis Cup win! Makes 79 years fly by for GB when you play like that. Congrats to entire team!

Former England football captain David Beckham: What an amazing achievement ... Congratulations to our guys it's been a long time since getting our hands on the Davis Cup but what a way to finish... Well done to the boys and all the team behind them for making us so proud ...