Australia have been drawn in a group with Belgium and Colombia in the new-look Davis Cup finals which take place in Madrid in November.

Belgium, who beat Australia in Brussels in the semi-finals two years ago, are ranked fourth in the Davis Cup rankings, with the South Americans, who beat Sweden to qualify for the world group stage, 18th.

The draw was conducted in the Spanish capital on Thursday with 18 nations put into six groups for the controversial new tournament, which counts Australia captain Lleyton Hewitt among its biggest critics.

The six group winners plus the two second-placed teams with the best records based on percentage of sets won will qualify for the quarter-finals for the event which gets under way from November 18-24.

Group A: France, Serbia, Japan

Group B: Croatia, Spain, Russia

Group C: Argentina, Germany, Chile

Group D: Belgium, Australia, Colombia

Group E: Great Britain, Kazakhstan, Netherlands

Group F: United States, Italy, Canada