Manchester to host a group stage of Davis Cup Finals

Manchester’s AO Arena will host a group stage of the Davis Cup Finals in September.

Leon Smith’s Great Britain side will take on three other countries from September 12-17, with the draw taking place on Wednesday.

The Lawn Tennis Association has prioritised taking major tennis events to different parts of the country, with next month’s Billie Jean King Cup play-off against France being staged in Coventry.

Britain signed a multi-year agreement with Gerard Pique’s Kosmos Group, which took over the running of the Davis Cup in 2018, to host a group stage, and that contract is continuing with the International Tennis Federation following the collapse of the lucrative deal.

The agreement required Britain to qualify for the group stages, which they did by defeating Colombia 3-1 away in February.

The 2015 champions will look to perform better on home soil than last September, when defeats against the USA and the Netherlands in Glasgow saw them fail to reach the ‘Final 8’ knockout competition.

The top two nations from four groups played across different countries advance to a six-day shoot-out in Malaga in November.