He's hardly the forgotten man of Australian tennis but, at 22 years of age, Bernard Tomic is keen to remind everyone of his talents.

Tomic's most recent opportunity in the local spotlight, during the last Australian summer, set the tone for a season of promise and suffering.

After a strong run to the final in his Sydney title defence, a mouth-watering Australian Open centre-court clash with world No.1 Rafael Nadal gave Tomic a stage befitting his talent.

His exit one set into the meeting instead gave his many detractors a platform to bemoan another lost opportunity.

But the hip injury that forced his withdrawal proved to be far more serious than anyone thought, plaguing his year and leading to two surgery lay-offs.

In between going under the knife, Tomic dropped out of the top 100 for the first time in three years, only to rebound and win his second career ATP title in Bogota.

It's been one hell of a season for Tomic, though to his credit he landed in the same bracket as Australia's evergreen warrior and next shooting star.

He finished the year ranked as world No.55, just behind Lleyton Hewitt (50) and Nick Kyrgios (52).

Tomic has now picked up a racquet again after his brief off-season break and is easing back into the swing ahead of the 2015 summer.

He knows the next few months could be crucial in his career and has set a goal to secure a grand-slam seeding in 2015.

"The first six months I have a big chance to play a lot of tennis," he said.

"I'd like to get into the top 30, after that look at going inside the top 15."

Last month, Tomic toyed with a new coaching arrangement, spending his week at the Stockholm Open under the wing of former Belgian pro Xavier Malisse.

But the trial didn't convince Tomic to ditch his father John as a long-term arrangement.

"I'll stick with my old man, he knows the best and he knows the next year is very important for me," he said.

He will be joined by a mysterious recruit to their coaching stocks - a new Swedish fitness conditioner who Tomic said was "one of the best physios in the world".

"He's worked with a lot of famous people and for me he's going to be important ... because if you don't get your body in shape you can't play the top players," he said.

"He's worked with many top players, many famous DJs as well."

Whether the trainer is setting up Tomic's work-out or just his play-list, it's clear Tomic is eyeing a huge surge in the rankings.

His attempted climb will begin at the Brisbane International in the first week of January.

He joins reigning champion Hewitt, Roger Federer, US Open finalists Marin Cilic and Kei Nishikori and Grigor Dimitrov in the field.