FRIENDS of the Sydneysider Doujon Zammit are paying tribute to him on a website after he was savagely attacked in an apparent case of mistaken identity on the Greek island of Mykonos.

Two of his friends were also hurt in the incident late on Monday night after the trio left a club at Paradise Beach at the popular tourist destination.

Mr Zammit, 20, is on life support in an Athens hospital after being struck on the head with a metal baton. Mr Zammit was flown to Tzaneio Hospital, in the port city of Piraeus, where he underwent surgery at 7am on Tuesday.

His father has flown to Greece to be with him.

His friends have set up a website under the heading "Only the Good Die Young".

His uncle Tony Triccas said he had opened his eyes after an operation before being put in an induced coma. "It's devastated the mother, she's sedated; the father's in a bad way," he told the Herald .

Mr Zammit, who was a school captain at Cecil Hills High School, finished a graphic design course last year, and planned to travel around Europe for a few months. He had been away for four weeks and visited Italy, Malta, Spain, Greece and Dubai.

He was travelling with his 20-year-old cousin, Cameron Tabone, who suffered a broken nose and wrist in the attack.

The two, together with a third Sydney man, were allegedly followed from the club by two of its employees. The unidentified third Australian is believed to have suffered minor head injuries.

It is understood the club employees - a 25-year-old bouncer and an 18-year-old car park attendant - approached Mr Tabone and Mr Zammit after they left the venue, demanding their passports and accusing them of stealing of a handbag. When they protested their innocence and refused to hand over their travel documents, an altercation ensued. Two other bouncers who were passing by allegedly joined the fight.

The 25-year-old bouncer is expected to be charged with grievous bodily harm when he faces court on the island of Syros today.

The parking attendant and two other bouncers are expected to appear in the same court today.