Fans pepper-sprayed

A tennis fan (C) has his face washed after authorities used pepper spray on the crowd during a match at the Australian Open in Melbourne on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

A group of rowdy fans were pepper-sprayed by police at the Australian Open on Tuesday as ugly scenes blighted the tournament for a second year.
The incident occurred during a match on the Margaret Court Arena between Chile's Fernando Gonzalez and Greek player Konstantinos Economidis.
About two dozen Greek, Cypriot and Serbian fans were involved, according to an AFP photographer at the scene.
When two of them began fighting a police officer moved in but was quickly surrounded.
He took out his pepper spray at aimed it at the fans, according to the photographer.
More police and plain clothes security staff arrived and a number of fans were escorted from the arena.
It was unclear if any arrests were made but police called a press conference for later Tuesday.
"It was strange, it's never happened to me before," said Economidis after the match, which Gonzalez won.
"I don't know exactly what caused it or what happened out there, I was focused on my match and I am really sad that this has taken place.
"It's not something that anybody wanted.
"It was a great atmosphere except for this certain point of the match that this incident happened.
"I am really unhappy about what happened."
The tournament last year was blighted by ugly ethnic violence on the opening day when Serbian and Croatian fans, wearing the national colours of the bitter Balkan rivals, clashed using flagpoles, bottles and boots.
More than 150 spectators were ejected on that occasion.