Imagine thousands of eyes looking at you! All attention is focused on you as you are attempting to execute something that has been done a million times when no one but your coach is observing you. How would you fare? Would you succeed in performing the actions you have trained all of your life to do? Or would you "choke" under the pressure and miss the easiest of actions?
We have all seen the "clutch" and also the "chokes". This happens in sports all the time. Michael Jordan has been seen as the ultimate competitor under pressure. The ball has been put in his hands time after time and it seems as he can do no wrong. Tennis players experience this mental strain every point. Remember, they cannot pass the ball to their teammates to execute the final shot. They must execute the final, the first and all shots in between. The beauty about other sports is that the ball can be given to another player and the pressure is not as immense. In football, the ball might be in the other team's hands and if you are an offensive player all you become is a cheerleader at the end of the game. In basketball, you are involved on the defensive play but the player you are defending might not even touch the ball. In tennis, you are the offense and defensive and have to react the correct way in every ball.
We have seen some of the greatest choke jobs in sports through tennis. Ask Novotna who squandered a 5-2 lead in the Wimbledon Final. How about Coria at the French to Gaudio? Wow, was that agonizing. Even the greats do it, Ivan Lendl, as good as he was did not come through in too many finals. Players like Federer, Nadal, Sampras, and Agassi were and are some of the best of all times not just bc of the majors they hold but also bc of their ability to close their opponents in the grandest of stages. Ask Andy Roddick how he feels about playing Federer in major finals. That poor guy would have had at least 4 majors if it wasn't for the grand maestro. How about Rafa at the French? Can we say perfection?! These players not only enjoy the situation of the ball at their hands but cherish the opportunity to decide their fates.
We have all been in a situation where our parents or friends visit one of our sporting events and we become nervous as we want to perform our best. Tennis players not only have their family and close friends view them in the grandest of stages but also have millions of their "closest" friends watch them as well. Every move affects the outcome and this is why no other sport is as difficult!
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For the same reasons that you listed, I think golf is a tie for first place.
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