Roger Federer just paid one of his rivals the ultimate compliment by saying he 'plays like me when I was young'

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Roger Federer.

• Tennis players Roger Federer and Nick Kyrgios could be putting a sporting rivalry to the side in favour of an unlikely friendship.
• The two competitors squared off in the semifinal stage of an ATP competition earlier this month, but have since been gushing over each other in the press.
• Kyrgios marveled at Federer's tennis style - praise that has since been reciprocated by the Swiss superstar.
• Federer even said Kyrgios reminds him of himself while he was young.
• Federer is currently competing in the Halle Open in Germany while Kyrgios contests the Queens Club Championships in England.

An unlikely friendship is developing in tennis.

ATP tour rivals Roger Federer and Nick Kyrgios have been gushing over each other ever since Federer beat Kyrgios in straight sets at the Stuttgart Open semifinal in Germany earlier this month.

Federer went on to win the title, his first ATP tour competition since March, but his 23-year-old foe left such a good impression that Federer has thought about him ever since.

Federer says he does not want to meet Kyrgios again in the near future because they competed against each other recently, and he knows Kyrgios is a tough competitor.

"I'd rather not play five-set matches against Nick because they would last too long and we would probably both grow beards before the end," Federer said, according to TennisWorldUSA.

Kyrgios has a reputation as the bad boy of world tennis, and even though Federer has an ambassadorial image, he says he can relate to the younger pro. "I lost to Franco Squillari in Hamburg 2001, I complained a lot, I was disappointed [with] my performance and so I decided to calm myself down."

But the comparisons do not end there as Federer further complimented Kyrgios by claiming their styles are similar.

"I'm a fan, really. He plays very relaxedly, just like me when I was young," he said.

"Fortunately, I changed then [and calmed down], so I could become really successful. But it's good to have guys like him on the tour. With him it's more about being focused to motivate himself again, doing the same on every point."

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Nick Kyrgios.

Federer's praise comes hot on the heels of a glowing report from Kyrgios. The Australian, who recently stunned Andy Murray in the Round of 32 at the Queens Club Championships in England, reflected on his semifinal loss to Federer by claiming he "looks so comfortable on the grass."

Kyrgios said: "I have never played anyone with a better sort of serve and first ball, especially on the grass. His block return on his backhand side is money."

Federer has been winning money all year long, even though he did not compete from mid-March to mid-June as he wanted to skip the clay season so he could be as fit and fresh as possible for the Wimbledon Championships in July.

Federer's comeback has so far been flawless as he dropped just two sets en route to the Stuttgart Open title, scalping Mischa Zverev, Guido Pella, Kyrgios, and Milos Raonic along the way - adding €117,030 ($135,655) to his overall earnings for the year ($4,474,209).

He is currently competing in the Halle Open and is due to compete against Benoît Paire in the second round on Thursday, having convincingly beaten Aljaž Bedene in the first round earlier this week.

Kyrgios has a men's singles match against English player Kyle Edmund on Thursday.