Twelve months ago the Spaniard was struggling with wrist problems and had gone more than two years without a grand slam title.
Now he is hot favourite to beat Kevin Anderson today and win multiple slams in a season for only the second time since 2010.
Nadal has not been as dominant in New York as he was at the French Open but the world number one has played himself into sparkling form.
In the semi-finals against Juan Martin del Potro, he recovered from losing the first set to batter his weary opponent, dropping just five games in the next three sets.
Nadal, the US Open champion in 2010 and 2013, said: “For me, what is more important, more than winning slams, is to be happy.
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“I am happy if I am healthy, and happy if I feel competitive and that’s what happened this year.”
Nadal appeared to be in the much tougher half of the draw but has made it through without facing a top-25 player and now finds 32nd-ranked Anderson standing in his way.
The 6ft 8in South African beat American Sam Querrey in the quarter-finals and 12th-seed Pablo Carreno Busta in the last four.
Nadal has won all four of their previous meetings, Anderson managing just a single set, but the Spaniard is wary of his opponent’s aggressive game.
He said: “It’s a very tough one. He’s a huge player with an unbelievable serve.”
Anderson said: “Nadal is one of the greatest competitors. I really need to be dominant and control proceedings as much as possible.”
Britain’s Jamie Murray and Swiss Martina Hingis yesterday added the US Open title to their Wimbledon mixed doubles title with a 6-1 4-6 10-8 win over Michael Venus and Hao-Ching Chan.