Davis Cup Finals group stage set for Bologna, Valencia, Manchester and Croatian city

The Lawn Tennis Association on Tuesday announced that Manchester would be one of the hosts for September's group stage.

The Finals will have 16 nations competing in four groups from September 12-17 across Manchester, Bologna, Valencia and Croatia - with each staging one group of four teams .

The top eight teams will then advance to the knockout stage, which will be held between November 21-26 in Malaga.

The draw for the group stage was also held on Wednesday.

Canada, Italy, Sweden and Chile were drawn together in Group A, which will take place in Bologna.

Last year's runners-up Australia, Britain, France and Switzerland make up Group B, with matches to be played in Manchester.

Group C's Spain, Serbia, the Czech Republic and South Korea will meet in Valencia, setting up a potential clash between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic (35), while Group D teams Croatia, the Netherlands, the United States and Finland will play their games in Croatia.