"I've gotta lift it up but I can't," Isner joked upon receiving the award on stage from Olympic gold medalists Lindsey Vonn and Shaun White.
He first congratulated Mahut, saying, "He was an absolute warrior that day. You can't fathom a match going 70-68 but somehow we did it. It was a pleasure to be on court with him."
Isner also thanked his team in Florida—"especially my trainer."
"Thanks to everybody for voting for me," he added. "I really appreciate it."
The match was also mentioned during host Seth Myer's introduction to the sports award show. Among the punchlines were, "By the time the match finished, the ball boys were ball men."
Kim Clijsters won the ESPY for best comeback, while Federer and Serena Williams got the nod for best male and femalre tnenis player, respectively.