WATCH: Dead point turns to soccer battle in Challenger

When your racquet fails you, try using your head, is the strategy world No. 374 Ivan Gakhov attempted in the second round of the ATP Challenger on Wednesday.

After flubbing a low backhand volley, the lefty decided the ball needed an extra push to get over the net, so he headed it like a soccer player:

The move looked impressive for a second, but then, on the other side of the net, Federico Coria made a kick save out of the air, forcing Gakhov to break out his racquet again to save the extracurricular point. With the crowd laughing, Coria tried to put the ball away with one last header, but missed it into the doubles alley.

Coria, an Argentinian ranked No. 234, shouldn't feel too bad, though; he pulled off the win in three sets, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4. In the third round of the tournament in in Almaty, Kazakhstan, he'll face No. 2 seed Denis Istomin. Soccer skills optional.

Meanwhile, Nick Kyrgios is out on the ATP Challenger Tour as well, playing doubles—and only doubles—in Surbiton, London, alongside Thanasi Kokkinakis.

They won their opening round, on Wednesday, in a super tiebreak, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 10-6, over Tommy Paul and Dominik Koepfer.

Follow Cody on Twitter: @CodyFitz96.