It seems that there is a simple rule about the lob played from close to the front-wall: just look for the service line. If you stick to this you will only need to adjust the direction of the ball, looking to have the second bounce on the side-wall and ideally the third bounce into the back-wall nick. Another thing that eventually will help is - as always - the deception. If you manage to fake a drop then your opponent will follow up which disables him to volley/smash in case if your lob is not deep/high enough. In the below example Thierry Lincou hit two consecutive lobs, the first one at 0:35 with Wael El Hindi on the move forward guessing a drop as Lincou was bending and stretching, and the second at 0:40, El Hindi already more aware and waiting on the 'T' as Lincou's bust was almost totally upright. El Hindi escaped with both and on his turn, a couple of shots later, found an almost perfect backhand lob that got stuck on the back-wall. Few people play the lob on club level, which I find strange as it really enriches the game and, if efficient, might frustrate your opponent a lot.
