Bernard Tomic has bowed out of the Australian Open ahead of the start of the tournament proper, before opening fire at the media in a bizarre post-match interview.

The 25-year-old Gold Coast native fell just short of qualification for the year's first major, losing 6-1, 6-7(5-7), 6-4 to Italian Lorenzo Sonego, ranked 218.

Tomic will miss his first grand slam tournament in seven years and his ranking will dip even lower than 142, where he currently sits.

Asked whether this represented a career crossroads for him, Tomic responded sarcastically to journalists.

"I just count money, that's all I do. I count my millions," he said.

"You go do what I did (on court). Bye bye.

"You go make 13-14 million (dollars). Good luck guys."

'I've never needed the help of Tennis Australia'

Tennis Australia had chosen not to hand Tomic an automatic wildcard spot for the Open.

The former world number 25 said before attempting qualification, which involves three knock-out matches, that he had never relied on Tennis Australia.

"I'm not going to say anything [about not getting a wildcard]," he said.

"It's their view and I've never needed the help of Tennis Australia to achieve what I've achieved in my career.

"For me, it's not a big problem."

After reaching the third round of the Open last year, Tomic won just eight more matches in a dismal season.

He was fined a Wimbledon-record $20,000 after admitting to feigning injury and being "a little bored" during a listless first-round loss to Mischa Zverev at The All England Club.

This will be the first time Tomic has not appeared at the Australian Open since 2008.