Australian Open tennis 2020 travel tips, tickets and guide: Where to go and what to watch

GAME

Melbourne Park has experienced everything from the famous flood of 1995 to the brutal heat that can be blown away in the winds of a changeable Melbourne summer. In short: be prepared for anything, and think comfort, Sunsmart and hydration. Also consider some BYO catering to augment the vast number of choices at main-event-prices, and install the redesigned AO app featuring an interactive map that helps to locate food and facilities close to your seat. Forget something? There are 21 merchandise outlets, but please note that only the players can pinch the official towels.

Gates open at 10am for the day sessions and, after the requisite bag search, ground-pass holders will dash for the 10,500-seat Melbourne Arena plus the smaller courts boasting the most enticing programs and/or most relief from the sun, with show court three the beneficiary of a $1 million shade cloth instalment to cover the almost-3000 seats. The daily order-of-play is available on the tournament website on the night prior, and a little preparation can assist in getting the most from your viewing day. Going "Adults Only" at the AO may also help; there's a Kids' Club for 5-12-year-olds at Fed Square's Deakin Edge (from $80-$140, extended "Date Night" hours from 6-9pm and bookings essential). No excuses, then. The tennis awaits.

SET

So you've found your seat. The warm-up is underway. If you're new to up-close tennis watching, don't be surprised to discover that the ball is hit a fair bit harder than it can appear on your TV screen. On the show courts, you'll need to be in place before the chair umpire calls "time", or be forced to wait until after the first three games of a set, with entry and exit opportunities at the odd-numbered changes-of-ends thereafter. But the joy of so many matches being played simultaneously, mostly in week one, is that a dull match can easily be replaced by another with more appeal - vacant seats permitting.

Barrack, by all means. Loudly. Wear your national colours and chant/sing along with the Aussie supporter group, the Fanatics - or the Swedes, Slovaks or Serbs - if that's your thing. But etiquette requires silence as a player prepares to serve or while the ball is in play - even if the odd involuntary gasp or groan is inevitable. And no matter how great your enthusiasm, it's poor form to applaud an opponent's double-fault. Or to spend too long trying to placate a crying baby. Just get out of earshot as soon as possible. The MCG this ain't.

Naturally, abuse of any kind will not be tolerated, with a well-staffed security force ready to eject patrons who overstep. The players, too, are guarded closely, but that doesn't mean those spectators leaning over the railings or hovering near the gate on an outside court can't still ask for an autograph as players head back to the locker-room. Just stick with the winners. Their mood will be better.

MATCH

Hungry? Grand Slam Oval, or the area between Rod Laver and Melbourne Arenas, is HQ for food and entertainment. The 2020 theme is "Best of Victoria", split into Eastside, Countryside and Northside, and pop-ups include Lomah, Mr Myagi, Biggie Smalls, Cacao and Mamasita. There are other options throughout the precinct, including around Garden Square, the posh nosh likes of Nobu and Rockpool on River Terrace, or head across the road to 56 By The Glasshouse, billed as "a culinary showcase of local produce" and home to the AO Chef Series.

Like the queues, tennis days can be long and, unlike most sports, there is no certainty of a finish time. The best-of-five-set men's format may now exist only at the majors, but, while it does, there's always the chance of play continuing on the outside courts well into the evening - or, inside, until the early hours of the morning. The big screens at Grand Slam Oval cater to the thousands who attend purely for the party, and - like many a spring carnival race-goer who doesn't get within a few furlongs of the horses - will never see a single ball hit live.

New for 2020 is the evening option called "late", a cocktail jazz bar with skyline views on, well, L8, of multi-story Tennis HQ and open from 8pm to midnight. Back at Birrarung Marr on the AO Live Stage, Jessica Mauboy will headline the "Girls Day Out" concert on tournament eve, with Billy Idol, the Veronicas, Bastille, Max Frost and Kate Miller-Heidke among the international and local acts confirmed for the following 14 days. A ground pass or arena ticket grants entry.

Nearby, around the official hotels - Accor is the current tournament partner, but also Crown, the Grand Hyatt and others - you'll likely run into a few dinner-bound athletes and their entourages. A final tip: the players, typically, will be the tall, trim types whose suntans stop at their feet.

OFF-SHORE

FRENCH OPEN (MAY 18-JUNE 7, 2020)

Having ended years of debate by preferring continued residence at Roland Garros to a shift to a roomier venue, by far the most compact of the four grand slam homes is also close to the heart of Paris. Just 5 kilometres from the Arc de Triumph and even less from the Eiffel Tower in the posh 16th arrondissement, the Metro ride to Porte d'Auteuil is among the best public transport options. In 2020, Ash Barty will be attempting to defend her first major title on the trademark red European clay, where only Sam Stosur excelled before her fellow Queenslander over recent decades. For the calendar and details for ticket sales, which open to the general public in March and include a "last-minute" stash for purchase from May 6, see tickets.rolandgarros.com/en

WIMBLEDON (JUNE 29-JULY 12)

The hardest part is getting entry to the world's most prestigious tournament, as evidenced by the overnight campers hoping to be near the front of what even The Championships officially called The Queue. The other ways into the All England Club (take the Tube to Southfields or Wimbledon then walk/bus/share a taxi) are via the wildly oversubscribed online Wimbledon Public Ballot (which closed for 2020 at the end of November - to be eligible for 2021 join myWIMBLEDON at wimbledon.com/en or via Ticketmaster, and through corporate hospitality. But a tip for those who have entered with ground passes: early departees from Centre/No.1/No.2 Courts are encouraged to return their ticket for re-sale, with proceeds aiding the Wimbledon Foundation.

US OPEN (AUGUST 31-SEPTEMBER 13)

Arthur Ashe Stadium (capacity 23,771) is the world's biggest tennis venue, and the US Open is home to the noisiest, most chaotic and in-your-face atmosphere of the sport's Big Four. Think heat, humidity, hot dogs, celebrities and Labour Day festivities at the last slam of the year, played at Flushing Meadows in Queens. The best way to get there is on the subway (the Number 7 train to the Citi Field stop) from Manhattan. Tickets go on sale in early June, also via Ticketmaster, but for general information, see usopen.org