Great Britain get winnable group in Davis Cup finals draw

The event will take place in Manchester in September with the top two from each group making it through to the Final 8 event in November

Great Britain dramatically beat France after saving match points in the deciding rubber last year (PA)

Great Britain will play Canada, Finland and Argentina in the group stage of the Davis Cup finals in Manchester in September.

Leon Smith’s side will hope for a less nail-biting conclusion than in the same city last year, when Dan Evans and Neal Skupski saved match points to beat France in the deciding match in front of a jubilant record crowd, and the draw appears to have been relatively kind.

Canada, led by Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov, were champions in 2022 but lack strength in depth.

Finland were last year’s surprise package, making it through to the semi-finals for the first time, while Argentina boast three top-30 players, but indoor hard courts should favour Britain.

The ties will take place at the AO Arena from 10 to 15 September, with the top two teams progressing to November’s Final 8 event.

Having beaten France, Australia and Switzerland last year to progress, Britain then fell at the first hurdle in the quarter-finals in Malaga, losing out to Novak Djokovic’s Serbia.

Defending champions Italy will host a group in Bologna also featuring the Netherlands, Belgium and Brazil, while Australia, Czech Republic, France and Spain will contest a heavyweight Group B in Valencia.

The final group, containing Germany, USA, Slovakia and Chile, will take place in the Chinese city of Zhuhai.