Petra Kvitova defeated Julia Goerges 6-3, 6-2 Saturday to give the Czech Republic a 1-0 lead over Germany in their Fed Cup World Group semifinal.
Goerges lasted only an hour with 23 unforced errors against the 10th-ranked Kvitova, who dropped just two points on her serve in the second set and converted four of five break points.
It was Kvitova's 29th singles match win in the Fed Cup.
Angelique Kerber hoped to level the score later Saturday against Karolina Pliskova in the second rubber.
The 10-time champion Czechs have a 7-1 head-to-head record over their hosts. The Germans' only win came in 1987 when Steffi Graf was part of the team that beat Czechoslovakia 2-1 in the World Group semifinals in Vancouver.
After taking a 3-0 lead in the second set, Konta broke Nara to lead 5-2 and then served for the win to level the playoff at 1-1.
Naomi Osaka, who claimed her first WTA title at Indian Wells in March, hit 11 aces to beat Heather Watson 6-2, 6-3 in the opening singles.
Konta will face Osaka in Sunday's first reverse singles while Watson takes on Nara in the fourth rubber. Miyu Kato and Makoto Ninomiya will face Anna Smith and Gabriella Taylor in the doubles.
Britain won both of the previous two meetings between the two teams — in Johannesburg in 1972 and Nagoya in 1985.
Fed Cup: Australia, Netherlands level 1-1 after opening day
Ashleigh Barty has leveled Australia's Fed Cup World Group playoff against the Netherlands with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Quirine Lemoine on indoor hard courts.
In the opening singles match Saturday, Lesley Kerkhove upset Samantha Stosur 7-5, 7-6 (1). Stosur had her chance to get back into the match, holding two break points in the eighth game of the second set, but she allowed Kerkhove to win the next four points and then was outclassed in the tiebreaker.
Australian captain Alicia Molik will consider replacing Stosur with the higher-ranked Daria Gavrilova for Sunday's reverse singles ahead of a possible deciding doubles match.
Gavrilova lost both her singles matches against Ukraine in February when Ukraine won the tie 3-2 in Canberra and was not considered for Saturday's opening singles against the Netherlands.