but without lessons, or guidance, it was never a shot I felt I could control.

I remember there was a player... I thinking the 70's, possibly into the 80's as well.... top player, (but I forget who), who could hit a top spin that made my jaw drop. He would hit the ball that at impact you would swear was a lob... the ball would go WAY over the net, not even close, but then drop deep with that zip you were talking about. To the casual eye it looked like his opponent was hitting line drives and he was simply lobbing it back but he wasn't... it was actually hit VERY hard but high and with so much top spin it was always in and would just SHOOT over the surface when it bounced.

You might recall who I'm talking about? - JamesJM