Top Melbourne restaurants set to match up at the 2020 Australian Open

Nadal v Federer

Vue de monde v Attica

Williams v Barty

Chin Chin v Kisume

Tennis is all about classic match-ups, and next year Melbourne eateries are pairing up to create one-off dining experiences during the Australian Open.

Twenty of the city's top restaurants will team up at the 2020 tournament for two-day dining packages on the weekend of the Open's finals matches.

Tennis fans with an eye to fine dining will be able to buy packages that include tickets to both the men's and women's finals along with pre-match dinners at two eateries.

Matilda chef-owner Scott Pickett jumped at the opportunity to be involved in the project, called Finals Table.

Those who eat at Pickett's woodfire-focused South Yarra restaurant on Saturday, February 1, will enjoy a five-course dinner with matched wines in the early evening, before hopping in a limousine to Rod Laver Arena for the women's final at 7.30pm.

On Sunday, the same set of diners will sample the offering at Stokehouse in St Kilda before the men's final.

Pickett – who previously ran a pop-up restaurant on the grounds of Melbourne Park during the tournament – says he is excited to "try to capture the true essence of Melbourne".

"It's one of the sporting capitals of the world but it's also one of the food capitals of the world. It's combining our great strengths during a couple of weeks of beautiful weather," says Pickett.

Other pairings include Shane Delia's Maha and Ishizuka as well as Andrew McConnell's Cutler & Co and Marion.

The new entrant to the tournament's culinary offering comes on the back of a bumper serving of food and drink at the 2019 tournament.

Almost 60,000 people ate at on-site outlets including Biggie Smalls, Mamasita and Neil Perry's Burger Project in January this year, an almost 30 per cent increase on the previous year, which reaped a $280 million economic boon for the Victorian economy, according to the state government.

Rockpool and Nobu will be back at the Open in 2020, their third successive year at the tennis.

Finals Table forms part of the tournament organiser's strategy to broaden the culinary reach of the Open beyond the confines of Melbourne Park.

Tennis Australia's head of on-site revenue, Enda Cunningham, says the ongoing $1 billion redevelopment of the precinct "forced the hand" of the organisers to look to the suburbs and regions of Victoria, as sections of Melbourne Park remain under construction until 2022.

Pastuso chef Alejandro Saravia will host a paddock-to-plate food event in Gippsland, while the Open will also host rooftop bar and laneway coffee tours in the CBD and wine tours in the Yarra Valley, with more new food-focused offerings to be announced.

"The demand is there for people to enjoy great food and enjoy the tennis," says Cunningham.

Tournament organisers are hoping to harness the full gamut of Victoria's food experiences to have more than half of the event's attendees come from overseas or interstate. Currently, 42 per cent attend from outside Victoria.

"Then it becomes a question of how we disperse fans to other regions," says Cunningham.

For bookings or more information regarding Finals Table call 1300 309 166 or email aohospitality@tennis.com.au.