We watch a fair amount of tennis besides Federer matches and Serena’s ass going side to side (how does she move so quick with a trunk so full?). That’s why when we found out that a group of Greeks were pepper-sprayed and thrown out yesterday from the Australian Open match between Chilean Fernando Gonzalez and Greek Konstantinos Economidis, we were very upset. Not for the sanctity of the game, but because all we usually see in the stands are people turning their heads slightly 45-degrees from the left to the right. Stephen Butterick, a BBC Radio producer, had a wonderful play-by-play of the event, which he said resembled “a Davis Cup match crossed with a football match.”

The Chileans outnumbered them by about 8-1 but the Greek guys were in one corner of the court, chanting, making loads of noise. We were watching Gonzalez, and suddenly, I don’t know why, a policeman appeared.

He tried to get someone and that stage there were two policemen. The other lads got up and started pushing and shoving and he (the policeman) sprayed some kind of mace spray. That set them off again and then, there weren’t enough policemen, never more than three or four. The policemen to me looked a bit rattled — two guys against maybe 70-80, that’s not good.

Then there was a second macing, and I’d say about a third of the Greek fans disappeared. One of the Greek lads who’d been sprayed then vomited — I have never seen anything like it at a tennis match in my life.

Yes, which is why we need more of this in men’s tennis. If Federer is going to be winning everything, they need a sideshow of vomiting and fighting in the stands to keep us interested.

Fans Sprayed And Evicted At Melbourne Park [Javno Sports]
Image [Javno Sports]