Canadians focused on experiencing Wimbledon glory, not loss of rankings points

There are no ranking points on offer at Wimbledon this year, the result of a decision by the ATP and WTA Tours in response to the tournament's decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players.

But top Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime said Saturday that won't affect the desire or intensity of players as they compete for Grand Slam titles.

"It remains a prestigious tournament to win, with or without points. So all the players will give their best effort to win matches here," Auger-Aliassime said Saturday. "There will be a lot of fans, and there's money as well. The players will find personal motivation to give their best effort."

Auger-Aliassime is ranked No. 9. But he's seeded No. 6 because of the absence of world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev and No. 8 Andrey Rublev because of the ban, and No. 2 Alexander Zverev because of the serious ankle injury he suffered at Roland Garros.

The 21-year-old reached the quarter-finals a year ago. And so he will see those ranking points drop off the 52-week rolling computer tally in two weeks, without having an opportunity to replace them at this year's edition.

Beyond that, he has a challenging opening round against French-American Maxime Cressy.

Cressy, who reached the final at the ATP tournament in Eastbourne this weekend, is a rare throwback — a serve-and-volley player who will challenge Auger-Aliassime from the net at every opportunity.

The other Canadian in the men's singles draw, No. 13 Denis Shapovalov, is in an even worse situation as he reached the semifinals a year ago, losing to Novak Djokovic.

The decision won't affect Auger-Aliassime, as he is expected to remain at No. 9. For Shapovalov, it will mean a drop from No. 16 out of the top 20, to No. 23.

Shapovalov will face Frenchman Arthur