Kurumi Nara won her singles match to cancel out former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka's victory in the opening rubber as Japan and Belarus ended the first day of their Fed Cup World Group II playoff on Saturday tied at 1-1.
Two-time former Australian Open champion Azarenka, who has slipped to No. 32 in the world rankings after an injury-plagued 2014, dominated Japan's No. 2 Misaki Doi at Ariake Colosseum, winning 6-1, 6-2 in just 1 hour, 9 minutes.
But 23-year-old Nara, who has risen to No. 54 in the world after winning her first singles title on the WTA Tour in Rio de Janeiro last year, evened the score with a hard-fought 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 victory over Olga Govortsova to keep Japan in firm contention going into the final day.