Serena Williams Opens Up About The Greatness, Likability of Roger Federer

Roger Federer has fans all across the globe, but none may be more devoted than the legendary Serena Williams.

In fact, Williams cited Federer as a source of inspiration, particularly when it comes to athletes aging. Federer and Williams are each 39 years old.

"He's just a synopsis of greatness and class and amazing and really changed the game," Williams told reporters at the Emilia-Romagna Open. "You see players playing like him, moving like him, doing his techniques. The guy is (a) genius."

Meanwhile, Federer is coming off a loss at the Gonet Geneva Open on Tuesday. It was just his second event since returning from two knee surgeries that kept him out for an entire year. Federer just started to play again in March.

“It’s good to be back on the court, but then you lost a match like this, and you’re down. It never feels great. I was looking forward to playing here, no doubt about it,” Federer said after a loss to Pablo Andujar. “But this is a press conference where I have to explain how I feel about losing, which is never the greatest way of trying to explain why and how it all happened. But of course there were moments where I was really happy to entertain the crowd and looking at the long road that I’ve been on from the comeback."

Win or lose, Federer has a self-proclaimed "super fan" in Williams.

"I just feel like he is really the greatest player," Williams said. "You can't not like the guy, that's how I feel. His game is so fantastic. If I could only play like him."