The tennis event at the London 2012 Olympics gets underway and it'll be a return to Wimbledon's Centre Court for all those going for gold. Who are the current favorites in the Men's Singles field, and who should you have your money on?

With 2008 gold medallist, Rafa Nadal missing out on this one through injury, it gives a great opportunity for the likes of Djokovic, Federer and Murray to go for gold over the next 10 days. 

Fed Med?

For Roger Federer this is the first event he'll play since winning the Wimbledon title and claiming his place back at the top of the world rankings. It couldn't be a more perfect time or venue for the Swiss.

There's no question that Federer will be highly determined and going all out for this one. What better way to celebrate his recent success than adding to it what would be a first Olympic gold medal.

Roger will be well aware that this is likely going to be his final realistic opportunity to win an Olympic gold and what better place to do it than on his beloved Centre Court?

With his confidence sky high, Federer is definitely the man to beat here and can be backed at 11/5.

The Djoker in the Pack

Novak Djokovic is actually the favourite to win the gold medal, but after losing so meekly to Federer in the Wimbledon semis, some are questioning if he can go the distance this time.

For me Djokovic is rightly the favourite. He wasn't himself against Federer at Wimbledon but he demolished the Swiss in Paris at the start of June and has been dominant over his rival in many recent events. Djokovic is a man, fiercely proud of his country and I suspect the Serb has prioritised this event above all other in 2012.

When Novak defeated Federer comfortably in the French Open semi-finals, he was on course to hold all four Grand Slams. It was a massive motivator.

At Wimbledon things fell a little flat for him. And it was understandable.

However, I'd expect to see Djokovic back on top of his game, highly motivated and desperate to win the gold for his nation.

Djokovic is my pick for gold in the men's event and can be backed at around 2/1.

Best of British

Andy Murray is the third man with realistic prospects of winning here. Having been defeated by Federer in the final, he knows he'll likely have to face Federer and Djokovic here if he's going to take the gold.

Home support will be a big factor and I'd definitely expect Murray to reach the semis and at least take a bronze medal.

At 7/1 to win gold, there is some great value there for Murray, but for me, it'll still be at least one step too far, to expect the British No.1 to take the top medal.

Spanish Eyes

I really like the look of David Ferrer at the moment. Grass was never his surface but he's been playing some great stuff on the turf this year and he was very unlucky not to defeat Andy Murray in the Wimbledon quarters. Ferrer can be backed at 33/1 to win the gold medal but I find the 5/1 on him winning any medal great value too.

Tsonga to Sing?

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is the third favourite and having reached the semi-final stage at Wimbledon in the previous two years, he'll have high hopes of landing at least a bronze.  Tsonga can be backed at 11/4 to win a medal and 25/1 to take the gold.

Best of the Rest

Don't forget that until the final, all matches will just be a best of three sets format so that does give some of the lesser names a bigger chance than they would have in the Grand Slam format.

Tomas Berdych, Milos Raonic, John Isner and Andy Roddick will all be capable of causing upsets on their day and any one of them could see their way through to a medal.

For me, the final here is going to be contested between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. It would be the dream final and it would be fantastic to see these two meet in another final, having had so many epic semi-finals in recent times.

Men's Singles Medal Picks

Gold - Novak Djokovic

Silver - Roger Federer

Bronze - David Ferrer