Wimbledon 2012: Novak Djokovic and Favorites to Win the Championship

As Wimbledon 2012 kicks off today we can't help but look forward to see who the favorites are to hoist the trophy and celebrate on London's fabled grass courts.

While there are the normal field favorites like Novak Djokovic and Maria Sharapova in the mix, there are a few players who may surprise the world with a victory at Wimbledon.

These six players are the favorites to win their respective tournaments in the Wimbledon Championships this year.

Women's: Maria Sharapova

After winning the French Open, Maria Sharapova completed her career grand slam and attained the world's No. 1 ranking.

She now looks to build off of her success at Roland Garros and win just her second title at Wimbledon, with the first coming eight years ago in 2004.

Sharapova is riding high after her victory at Roland Garros, and she has to be considered one of the favorites to win in London.

Women's: Victoria Azarenka

Victoria Azarenka struggled at the French Open, escaping the first round after losing the first set, and eventually being ousted by Dominika Cibulkova in the fourth round.

She lost her ranking as the world's No. 1 because of it, but she should be able to bounce back nicely in London.

Last year she found a new level of success in London, making it to the semifinals for the first time in her career. This year she will look to improve once again, and perhaps win the event.

Women's: Serena Williams

After suffering the worst loss of her career at the French Open, Serena Williams is still a favorite to win in London.

A first-round loss to Virginie Razzano marked the first time she has ever lost in the first round of a Grand Slam event. However, she will rebound nicely at Wimbledon.

Williams is a champion and a fighter, and she will be able to take this humiliating defeat and turn it around. She is no stranger to playing poorly at the French and then doing well at Wimbledon, an event which she has won four times already.

With such experience and motivation, Serena has a great chance of erasing her loss to Razzano from tennis fans' minds with her fifth title at Wimbledon.

Men's: Rafael Nadal

After winning his record-breaking seventh title at the French Open, Rafael Nadal looks to continue his stretch of dominance in London.

Rafa only dropped one set to Novak Djokovic in the final match, which was the only set he lost all tournament. The King of Clay blew the competition away on his preferred surface, and he looks to continue that trend on grass.

Nadal is so hot right now that he has to be mentioned as one of the favorites to win Wimbledon. If he can play half as well as he did at Roland Garros then he will surely win in London.

Men's: Roger Federer

Roger Federer may not be what he once was, but he still has what it takes to regain his dominance on grass courts.

Fed looks to tie Pete Sampras for the most Wimbledon titles in the Open Era with his seventh title in London.

This might be Fed's best chance of tying Sampras, and this could very well be the year that he does it.

Men's: Novak Djokovic

The world's No. 1 looks to right the ship after dropping the final match of the French Open to Rafael Nadal.

Djokovic looks to improve on his 13-1 record in Grand Slam events this year with a win a Wimbledon. He has been playing the best tennis of his career over the last year-and-a-half or so, and looks to win his fifth Grand Slam event during that time.

The Djoker looks to continue his stretch of dominance in London, and he is the clear favorite to win it all on the men's side.

Follow @JoshSchoch